Chronicles Of The Dragonborn
by New Divides
Summary: Sequel to Return Of The Dragonborn. 5 years after the defeat of Alduin, the Chancellor calls the Dragonborn to his aid. As she finds out what he needs, she ventures out into the provinces with a bit of help along the way... Now complete.
1. Prologue

**I've decided to do a sequel to Return Of The Dragonborn.**

**Set five years after the defeat of Alduin...**

**Also, as of next week I'll be updating two times a week: Tuesday & Friday. You'll get two chapters today, one on Friday & the routine will kick in.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>He sits upon his chair, at his desk in his magnificent ship. He sighs: It has been a long week.<p>

He was originally scheduled to attend his cousin's wedding, but a plot was discovered to kill him, so he didn't attend. Or at least, he was advised not to attend.

Only a few hours after the wedding, she had been killed. A courier had come with the unfortunate news. She had supposedly been crushed by one of the stone figureheads that lined the castle.

Then he was supposed to attend a dinner party, but due to the recent events, an impersonator was sent in.

He was poisoned by the food prepared by the so-called 'Gourmet'. Guards say that they killed the Gourmet, but he was concerned about the fact that someone was trying to kill him.

Rising from his chair, he retires to his chambers, hoping that he would be in Cyrodiil in a few days. He prefered the warm air of the Imperial City to the harsh, cold climate of Skyrim.

As he entered his chambers, he heard the sound of the door to his room opening. At first, he though it was one of the servants.

But, as he turned around, he soon realised that this wasn't one of his servants.

Or his guards.

Or even a member of the crew.

The figure was clad in some sort of armour that looked foriegn. Silver, with scratches along the sides. He was wearing a helmet, that was adorned with several plates of what appeared to be steel, giving it an almost ornate appearance. However, he had his sword drawn...

Which was dripping with blood.

'The Dark Brotherhood?' He questioned.

The figure approached him. 'Not the Dark Brotherhood,' The figure said. He grabbed the man by his collar, lifting him off the ground. 'Something worse,' The figure growled.

The figure watched as a horrified look took over the man's face. He tried to scream, but he didn't have the chance as the sword was run through his chest.

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><p><strong>So, I figured the best way to open the story would be with a major plot point. Because in this story: The Dark Brotherhood didn't kill the emperor... Read &amp; review. Chosen out.<strong>


	2. Part I: Port Windhelm

As the ship docked at Windhelm, the young Imperial woman stepped off the ship. She looked like the average Imperial, with the only exception that she had red hair. She wore regular clothing, with a cloak to protect her from the wind. The only thing that stood out was the leather boots & bracers. She shivered: Windhelm did live up to being the coldest city in Skyrim, Even colder than Winterhold, which was situated in the far north.

Looking around, she saw a few Argonian dockworkers. Being one of the 'beast' races of Tamriel, it was common for them to be found outside the city walls in Skyrim, due to several Nords being...racist.

She just hoped that the person she was looking for had a different outlook on such things.

'Excuse me,' she asked one of the dockworkers. The lizard looked up at her, meeting her gaze with his yellow eyes.

'Do you know a Redguard that lives here?' She asked.

'The Nords don't allow us inside the city,' He said. 'Ask one of the guards,'

'Thank you,' She said, walking away.

The Argonian shook his head as he went back to work, muttering something.

There were a few guards walking around. She approached one of them. 'Excuse me,' she said.

'What do you need, Imperial?' he asked.

'Do you know a Redguard that lives here?' She asked.

'Yeah,' The guard said. 'The mage. Goes by the name Cormer,'

'Thank you,' she said, walking away from the guard. She approached the massive gates, & entered the city.

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><p>As she entered the city, she couldn't help but be stunned at the sight of the architecture. The White Gold Tower was impressive back in Cyrodiil, but this was a new sight for her. She never expected Ysgramor's city to be this big.<p>

She took out the paper that had the mage's room number on it.

_Room 5. Candlehearth Hall, Windhelm_

Luckily, she didn't have to look for long, with the inn being in the centre of the city. As she entered the inn, she asked the Inn keeper for the mage. The inn keeper told her all she knew & lead her to his room. After taking her to the room, she knocked on the door.

After a few moments, the door opened. A Redguard around the same height, maybe slightly shorter, wearing mage robes opened the door (Think Marcurio). He had relatively short hair, as most Redguards tend to, & he was clean shaven.

'What can I do for you?' He asked.

'Are you Cormer?' She asked.

'Yes. Why?' He said warily.

'I am Zenia Gratus,' She said. 'I'm here about the message,'

'Ahh, the one the courier had. He came a few days ago. Come in,'

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><p>After a long journey from the Imperial City, Zenia was grateful to finally be resting. Cormer had been able to make some room for her to sit (amongst the many scattered scrolls, paper &amp; several targets). Despite the room being atrociously small, there seemed to be enough room for both of them.<p>

They sat down to a bowl of horker stew, which Zenia ate gratefully, happy to have a warm meal for once.

'So,' Cormer began. 'The note says the Chancellor needs the Dragonborn urgently,'

'Yes,' Zenia said. 'Do you know her?'

'We know each other,' Cormer said. 'She has helped me in the past, with my work,'

'Do you know where she is?'

'Not right now. I haven't seen her in two years since...well, I'm certain you wont want to hear about that,'

Zenia gave him a curious look. 'Hear about what?'

'It's a long story,'

There was a brief pause. Cormer then spoke again:

'But I know who will know where she is,'

'Who?' Zenia said hopefully

'Harbinger Ronan Oakblade. Her brother,'


	3. Jorrvaskr

After spending the night in Windhelm, the two of them prepared for the carriage to Whiterun by gathering supplies. Considering they didn't know where the Dragonborn was, so there was a possibility the journey could be a long one.

They boarded the carriage & made the three day trip to Whiterun. After several uneventful days, they made it to the city. They quickly noticed that the layout was completely different as they entered the city. Unlike Windhelm that was cold & completey made of stone, Whiterun was a bit warmer & had more space to move around.

As they wondered around the city, Zenia spoke up:

'Wasn't this the place that the Dragonborn imprisoned Odahviing?' She questioned, pointing to Dragonsreach.

'Yes,' Cormer said. 'See the keep?' He pointed to the mountain. 'That is Dragonsreach. That's where he was imprisoned,'

As they made their way through the plaza, there was a man preaching about how the emperor was assassinated. There were a few people listening, but most of the city was ignoring him. Without the emperor, all of the provinces were in turmoil & were being led by the chancellor, his second in command.

'Do they know who did it yet?' Cormer asked Zenia. 'Considering you're from the Imperial City, you would have some sort of idea,'

'They have an investigation going, but they have little information,' Zenia told him.

'Well, I just hope this doesn't start another crisis*,' Cormer said. 'The last thing we need is Mehrunes Dagon invading again,'

They made their way towards the building on the hill, which Cormer was Jorrvaskr. As they entered, they were greeted by a Nord.

'Welcome to Jorrvaskr,' He said. 'Come to join the Companions?'

'No,' Cormer said. 'But we are here to see Baurest & Maurmon,'

'Follow me,' He said, leading them down some steps.

They followed the man down into the living quarters. They approached a room, where there were two Redguards sitting at a table. They both them & stood up.

'What do you need, Farkas?' One of them asked.

'Here,' He said, steeping away from the door. 'They want to see you,'

Farkas then walked off, leaving them alone.

'What brings you to Jorrvaskr, Cormer,' One of them said. 'And who's with you?'

'Well, she's the reason I'm here Maurmon,' Cormer said.

Maurmon was taller than both Cormer & Zenia. Like Cormer, he was clean shaven. He had slightly longer hair & was wearing Scaled Horn Armour.

Baurest, who was standing next to Maurmon, couldn't be more different. He had short hair like Cormer, & had a small goatee. He was wearing a set of Wolf Armour. Neither of them wore helmets.

'Why is she the reason?' Baurest asked.

'Because I need to see the Harbinger,' Zenia said.

'He's not here,' Maurmon said. 'He'll be back soon though,'

Several hours had passed, & the four of them had gotten into a conversation about what the other provinces were like. Cormer had lived in Skyrim a bit longer than Maurmon & Baurest, so he was interested in how Hammerfell had changed. Zenia also told them about life in Cyrodiil, & how it was different to Skyrim.

Eventually, Farkas came back into the room, drawing their attention.

'Hey,' He said. 'The Harbinger's back,'

'Thank you,' Maurmon said. 'We'll see him shortly,

As Farkas left, Maurmon stood up. 'Well,' He said. 'It's time for you two to meet the Harbinger of the Companions,'

*** A reference to Oblivion. Read & review. Chosen out.**


	4. Harbinger Ronan Oakblade

Entering the hall, They saw that a few of the companions had returned from their trip. Among them, there was a Nord, who looked to be a little young for the title of Harbinger. He was wearing a complete set of Carved Nord Armour, which looked similar to the one that Ysgramor wore, including the helmet. He wore a massive battleaxe, that seemed to be several hundred years old, with what appeared to be a face carved into it.

'Harbinger,' Maurmon greeted as they approached him.

'For the last time Maurmon. You & Baurest are part of the Circle now. Call me Ronan,' He said to him, almost seeming annoyed.

'Yes Har- Ronan,'' Maurmon replied.

Ronan turned to Zenia & Cormer. 'So. Have you tow come to join the Companions? We are looking for recruits. I wont tell you why though. It might change your minds,' He said with a laugh.

'I'm afraid not,' Cormer said. 'But my companion Zenia,' He gestured to Zenia. 'Has a message for you... Oh! where are my manners? I'm Cormer,'

Ronan looked at Zenia. 'You're a long way from the Imperial City,' He said to her. 'Why are you in Skyrim Imperial? Here to see Nordic culture?'

'How did you know I was from the City?' Zenia said, both amazed & a little spooked.

'I can always tell where someone is from,' Ronan said. 'From the way they dress, the way they act & certainly how they speak to others,' He leaned in a bit, bringing himself closer to Zenia's face. 'And that badge you wear on that cloak of yours tells me where you allegiance lies,' he said a little more darkly, sending chills down her spine.

Zenia's widened, remembering the tales of Ronan being a captain in the Stormcloak army. While some of the tales told about him did seem a little farfetched, she knew that there could be some truth to them. She then recovered & handed the scroll to Ronan. Ronan inspected the scroll before speaking again:

'The Imperial seal...are you sure I can read this?' He asked her. 'I don't think my family would like it if a few soldiers came by & told them that I had been killed for looking at Imperial documents,'

'I've already read it & so has Cormer,' Zenia told him. 'You can read it,'

Ronan took his helmet off, revealing the rest of his face. He was growing a small beard & had a scar running down his face, which ran across his eye. He placed the helmet next to him, sat down & began to read:

_To whom it may concern:_

_Chancellor Tinion Quaceius has need of the Dragonborn, Sonia Oakblade. _

_The messanger has been instructed to find her & return to the chancellor as soon as possible. Anyone with knowledge to her whereabouts is to inform this messanger immediately._

_Be warned: Any attempt to assasinate or harm this target is punishable by death. _

_- The Elder Council_

Ronan handed the note back to Zenia. He then stood up.

'I'll tell you where Sonia is,' He said. 'But you're not going alone. I'm coming with you,'

'Are you sure, Harb-Ronan?' Baurest said. 'The roads aren't safe anymore, especially since the death of the emperor,'

'That's why I'm dragging you & Maurmon along with me. If you want,' Ronan said, turning to both of them.

Baurest & Maurmon looked at each other, considering Ronan's offer. 'Alright,' Maurmon said. 'We'll come along,'

'Great!' Ronan said. 'Zenia, Cormer, you two welcome to spend the night in Jorrvaskr, as honoured guests,

'Thank you, sir,' Cormer said gratefully.

'Oh for Talos' sake, call me Ronan,'


	5. Return To Riverwood

**Sorry! I would of updated on Friday, but my dad's internet was down.**

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><p>Leaving at around 10am the next day, they made their way to Riverwood. After talking (And persuading) the blacksmith up at the forge, he had agreed to make Zenia a sword. A few hours later, she was given a steel sword.<p>

'This is no ordinary sword,' The blacksmith said. 'This is Skyforge Steel. Only members of the Companions get one. Consider yourself lucky,'

They were now walking on the path to Riverwood. Despite being in the middle of summer, Skyrim kept it's reputation of being cool even in the warmer regions, so the air was cool. The path was well paved, but showed signs of aging, due to Skyrim's ever changing climate.

After a few hours, they saw a settlement up ahead. Since Sonia, Doria & Ronan returned home from their journey, Riverwood had slowly grown as a town. There were a few more homes, the inn was a bit bigger & there was now an apothecary in town.

As they entered town, Ronan lead them through the streets & towards the back of the settlement, leading them to one of the houses that was there. Outside, there was a man who was sitting on a chair, with a tankard in hand. Despite his youthful appearance, he he looked tired, almost like he hadn't slept in a long time. He looked up at them & smiled.

'It's about time you decided to show up,' He said, standing up.

'I'm sorry for not seeing you earlier,' Ronan said. 'Things have been hectic in Whiterun,'

'So hectic you couldn't visit your uncle, cousin & sister?' He said. 'Your father would be disgusted,'

'Don't drag the dead into this. Now, are you going to greet me or stand here giving me a hard time?' Ronan asked.

The man laughed & pulled Ronan into a hug. 'I'm just messing with you!' He said. 'Doria is around here somewhere. Maybe you can go find her?'

'Where's Sonia?' Ronan asked.

'She's out hunting. Would you care to introduce me to your friends?'

'Well, you already know Baurest & Maurmon,' Ronan began. 'Cormer, Zenia. This is my uncle, Jorgal. Jorgal, Cormer & Zenia,'

'Good to meet some new people,' Jorgal said. 'Things have been dull here lately,'

'Maybe that's a good thing,' Ronan said.

'Regardless. Come in. I'll get you some mead,' Jorgal said, leading them inside.

A few hours passed, & Doria had eventually come back to the house. Sonia still hadn't turned up, but they weren't too concerned: Sonia usuallly returned before nightfall.

It was late in the afternoon & they were spending the outside, talking about the events of the return of Alduin (Zenia was amazed at how the blacksmith in Dawnstar had fixed Doria's leg). Eventually, the conversation lead to the most recent event: The assasination of Titus Mede II.

'Cyrodiil is in turmoil,' Zenia said. 'With no emperor, the province is slowly becoming less & less willing to follow the Chancellor,'

'Cyrodiil isn't alone,' Jorgal said. 'Skyrim already didn't have a High King. Without a true leader, it won't be long until things start taking a turn for the worse. Who knows if Ulfric will try to take the throne again?'

'I hope so,' Ronan said. 'I would fight alongside with him again,'

'I would rather if you didn't,' Doria commented.

'Of course,' Ronan said sarcastically.

'I'm serious!'

'I know, I know,'

There was a brief pause.

'So, any word on the other provinces?' Doria asked.

'Only what I've told you about Cyrodiil,' Zenia said. 'What about Hammerfell?'

'We haven't been there in years,' Baurest said.

'Nothing's changed really,' Cormer said. 'Everything's pretty much remained the same,'

'That's strange,' Maurmon began. 'I could have sworn-'

They were interuppted by a scream. Standing up, they ran into the town center to see the source of the scream...

To see bandits rapidly approaching Riverwood.

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><p><strong>Again, sorry about the late update. Read &amp; review. Chosen out.<strong>


	6. Defending The Town

As the bandits rapidly approached the town, Ronan, Baurest & Maurmon drew their weapons. Doria drew a dagger & Cormer readied some spells. Jorgal knew better, so he grabbed Zenia, who had drawn her sword.

'What are you doing?' She shouted.

'Come on!' He shouted, dragging her behind one of the houses.

Most of the villiage was running away, into houses or the inn. The fight was in the centre of town, where most of the bandits were centering the attack. The fighters were severely outnumbered, with bandits attacking from all directions. It wasn't long before one of the bandits was able to find a way to fing Jorgal & Zenia hiding behind a house. He smirked at the terrified expressions on their faces.

Zenia attacked, swinging her sword at him. She missed & the bandit disarmed her quickly, now they were at his mercy...

As the bandit raised his axe, there was the sound of a bow being fired. An arrow then embedded itself in his chest. He let out a cry, stumbling back as another arrow found it's way into his chest.

Looking in the direction that the arrow came from, there was a figure on the roof. She put away her bow, gleaming & made of bones. She then drew a golden katana & jumped off of the building, killing a bandit in the process.

Looking around the corner, the fight was in full blow. Cormer & Doria were back to back, Maurmon had two unique swords drawn, Baurest was using two axes, Ronan was using his battleaxe & the archer was fighting with her sword. As she struck each foe, they seemed to catch on fire, burning them as she finished them off.

Eventually, the surviving bandits figured out that they were quickly losing the fight & decided to call off the attack. As they regrouped & ran off, the few civilians that had decided to stay outside cheered.

When they were finally out of sight, Ronan spoke:

'Everyone okay? Is anyone hurt?'

There were a few replies, but no one was seriously injured, much to his relief.

Jorgal & Zenia approached the group. As they approached, they got a closer look at the archer-warrior. She wore a Dragonplate cuirass, Blades gauntlets & boots & was wearing some sort of mask.

'So,' She said to Ronan. 'You've come home & dragged Baurest, Cormer & Maurmon along with you,'

'There's a reason for that,' Ronan said. 'The Imperial has been looking for you,'

'And you are?' She asked, turning to Zenia.

'Zenia Gratus,' Zenia said. 'I'm looking for the Dragonborn,'

'You won't have to look any further,' the archer said, removing the mask. 'I'm the Dragonborn,'

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><p>After helping the village with the recovery, Zenia handed Sonia the letter as they sat on the steps to Jorgal's house.<p>

'It's been opened,' Sonia said. 'Has anyone else read this?'

'It's okay,' Zenia said. 'It hasn't been seen by anyone we can't trust,'

'If Ronan has read this, then we should kill him. We can't trust him,'

Zenia looked horrified. 'But...'

Sonia laughed. 'I was only joking! Why would I kill my brother?'

Sonia then proceeded to read the note. When she was finished, she handed it back to Zenia.

'Well,' She said. 'Looks like the Chancellor isn't so high & mighty now,'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean, that if he wants my help,' Sonia began. 'He's obviously got a problem the Imperial Legion can't solve. It makes sense. They've made no progress on the emperor's murder,'

Zenia didn't know what to say. She did have a point.

'But,' Sonia started. 'It's been a while since I've done some travelling. It'll be nice to see Cyrodiil again. Doria,' She said, turning to her cousin, who had come outside with her father. 'Do you want to come along?'

'I think you should sit this one out,' Jorgal said. 'Remember what happened last time?'

'Father, I'll be fine,' Doria reassured.

Jorgal hesitated. 'If I get a letter saying that you have been killed, maimed or injured, when you & Ronan get back, Sonia,' Jorgal said, turning to Sonia. 'I will kill, maim or injure the two of you,'

'Yeah. I know old man,' Sonia said with a chuckle. 'So, we leave tomorrow,'


	7. Return To The Road

'Bad news,'

They had left the next day & were currently outside of Whiterun. While Sonia was checking the carriage's services, the rest of the group was talking about the events following the defeat of Alduin.

'The driver said that he can only take us out to Windhelm. We'll have to walk the rest of the way,' Sonia said, approaching the group.

'Are you sure there isn't another way?' Maurmon asked.

'He said that unless we want to walk to Dawnstar, we better take the carriage,' Sonia said. 'Personally, I really don't want to be walking that long,'

'Then let's get going,' Ronan said. 'We should have enough gold,'

They approached the carriage. 'Here,' Sonia said, throwing a bag of gold at the driver. 'Take us to Windhelm,'

'Climb on back & we'll be off,' The driver said.

They climbed onto the back of the carriage. Unlike a few years ago, they were now covered to protect the passengers & driver from the weather. It was waterproof, but it didn't keep out the cold.

As the carriage began moving, Cormer spoke up:

'How long until we get to Dawnstar?'

'Two days,' Sonia said. 'Hopefully,'

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><p>Upon their arrival in Windhelm, they immediatley headed into the inn. It was interesting seeing the inn keeper recognise Cormer. They rented some rooms &amp; spent the night in the inn, regretting having to get up in the morning to the bitter cold.<p>

The next day, they began the journey to Dawnstar. Surprisingly, it was a pleasant day despite the cold air, with the sun out & with no sign of a blizzard in sight.

'So, when do you think we will get to Dawnstar?' Zenia asked.

'Depends on the weather,' Sonia said. 'With weather like this, we'll get there in two days. But if a blizzard kicks up, it might take longer,'

'Not to mention there will be wild animals, bandits & Necromancers to deal with,' Ronan added. He then mumbled something about bandits under his breath.

'What about dragons?' Cormer asked.

'Only if they see me,' Sonia said. 'Mind you, I haven't seen one in two years. But I've seen signs that some are alive,'

'What do we do if we see one?' Zenia asked.

'Get ready for a fight,' Sonia said. 'They don't die easy & I'm the only one who can kill them completely,'

As the day went on, they slowly made their way along the path. It was a good couple of hours before they saw some travellers up ahead.

When they got closer, they realised that they weren't travellers. They were soldiers of some sort.

But they weren't friendly.

'There!' One of them shouted, seeing them. 'The Imperial messanger! Get them!'

They soldiers responded by drawing their weapons. As the enemies came towards them, Sonia stepped forward.

'FUS RO DAH!'

They went flying backward, smashing into the ground. As they clambered to their feet, The group had readied their weapons (Or spells).

The fight was over in a few minutes. When the last one fell, they began to search them for anything valuable or any clues as to why they recognised them. Doria found a note on what looked to be the leader of the group.

'Look at this,' She said.

They all gathered around her & began to read. The note said:

_You have your orders. Kill the travelers. They should be somewhere on the road to Dawnstar. For extra pay, retrieve the following items. They can be found on:_

_Harbinger Ronan Oakblade: Wuuthrad (suspected to be carrying Nordic Carved Armour)_

_Dragonborn Sonia Oakblade: Volsung, Goldbrand, Blades Armour (Might be carrying the Elder Scroll. If so, take)_

_Doria Oakblade: Dagger, throwing knives (may be more valuable alive due to knowledge of healing spells & potions)_

_Cormer of Rihad: Mage's Robes, Several valuable scrolls (Might be worth keeping alive as he knows several spells)_

_Maurmon of Sentinel: Family scimitars (Both swords are valuable together)_

_Baurest of Sentinel: Two family war axes (Axes may be useful in a ransom?)_

_On all accounts, take the messenger hostage. ALIVE._

There was no signature. Only some sort of symbol or a sigil.

'What do we do know?' Zenia asked. 'Is someone out to get us?'

'By the looks of things, yes,' Sonia said. 'Ronan, any suggestions?'

'We keep the note,' Ronan said. 'And keep moving,'


	8. Bandits & Werewolves

It wasn't long before night had fallen. They were now camping near the river that was beside the path. Despite Skyrim's reputation of having stormy skies most nights, the night was clear.

'So,' Sonia said to Baurest & Maurmon. 'Ronan tells me you two are part of the Circle now,'

'Yes,' Maurmon said. 'For about two months,'

'Interesting,' Sonia said. She mumbled something under her breath, but no one heard what it was. Ronan looked a little nervous & scanned the area.

'What's wrong?' Doria asked.

'I don't know why,' Ronan started. 'But I feel as if someone or something has been following us for a while,'

'Have you seen anything?' Cormer asked.

'No, but we did pass some ruins a while back,'

'The perfect place for a bandit hideout,' Baurest said.

'Should we go check?' Zenia asked.

'No,' Ronan said, standing up. 'If we went back now, we would either be ambushed or find nothing. It's better to just stay here for the night,'

* * *

><p>As Zenia slept, someone crept into the tent, careful not to wake her. Slowly, the figure made his way towards her, dodging sword placed on the ground. He carefully put his hand over her mouth.<p>

Zenia woke up, startled. She grabbed the intruder's arm, only to find Maurmon covering her mouth.

'Shh,' He whispered. 'Follow me,'

Zenia nodded & got up. Maurmon was already in full armour & had his weapons drawn. Zenia grabbed her steel sword & followed him.

Maurmon slowly opened the tent door, revealing his reason for waking her:

Bandits had surrounded the camp, proving Ronan's theory to be right.

Doria was defending herself, Cormer was...shocking & Sonia was firing arrows at rapid speed.

Ronan & Baurest were nowhere to be found.

'Go to Sonia!' Maurmon shouted running off to the side.

'Where are you going?' Zenia asked.

'It doesn't matter! I'll be fine!,' Maurmon shouted, exiting the tent. 'Go!'

Zenia ran out of the tent, sword in hand. Sonia saw her & covered her.

'Great night we're having!' Sonia said sarcastically.

'Yeah!' Zenia agreed. 'Completely calm!'

Sonia chuckled as she sent an arrow through a bandit's eye.

A bandit approached Zenia. Without thinking, Zenia swung her sword. It struck the bandit's arm, effectively slicing it open. The bandit dropped his sword in agony, giving Zenia the chance to kill him.

Just another one came to take his place, there was a sound that made everyone freeze.

Werewolves howling.

* * *

><p>Everyone turned to look at the cliff that was overshadowing the path. Sure enough, there were three bloodthirsty werewolves.<p>

As the werewolves ran down the side of the cliff to attack the bandits, both Sonia & Doria lowered their weapons & moved away. Cormer ran to join them, & Zenia stood behind them, clearly scared.

The werewolves made short work of the bandits. Some of them died in the original attack, but after the werewolves were done, all of the bandits lay dead.

One of the werewolves turned to face the group. It looked at Sonia & started to morph into a humanoid shape.

Ronan.

Without any armour on.

'Sorry about that,' He said. 'We figured you lot needed a hand,'

'Let me guess,' Sonia said. 'The two werewolves behind you are Baurest & Marmon,'

'Yes,' Ronan said. 'We'll go get dressed. One moment please,'

Once they had returned, they decided to head back to the tents & try to sleep. Just before Zenia went back to her tent, Maurmon approached her.

'Listen,' He said. 'Sorry you had to see that back there,'

'It's okay,' Zenia said. 'Thanks for letting me know we were being attacked,'

'No problem,'

This was followed by a short silence.

'Well,' Maurmon said. 'Sleep well,'

'You too,' Zenia said, smiling.


	9. Old Foes

**Okay guys, something's happened. **

**My school has decided to be a prick & filter the internet at home. **

**This means I can't access Fanfiction, Tumblr or DeviantArt on my school laptop.**

**Because of this, I've decided to go from 4 updates every cycle (2 weeks) to 3 updates. Starting next week, you will get one update on Friday one week & two updates on Tuesday & Friday the other. **

**Other than that, enjoy!**

* * *

><p>'Something's not right,'<p>

The group turned to face Sonia, who was walking behind most of them. They looked at her confused, while she looked anxious.

'What do you mean?' Baurest asked.

'I don't know,' Sonia said. 'It's like...I can't explain it...but...something's not right,'

'Then let's not take any chances,' Ronan said. 'Draw arms,'

They all drew their weapons & readied their spells. They began moving again, only this time a little on edge.

'Do you think there's danger?' Zenia asked Maurmon.

'I wouldn't doubt it,' Maurmon replied. 'When you've lived in a certain place long enough, you tend to know when there are dangers lurking about. Me & my brother have experienced similar feelings back in Hammerfell,'

For an uneasy 5 minutes, they walked along the path, ready for a fight. They had left the river & the mountains behind hours ago, with the landscape now a tundra covered in snow. There were mountains just visible in the distance, with a few trees present. It was much colder & they were more exposed.

Not to mention there wasn't any shelter if a blizzard broke out.

As time went on, they slowly became more & more paranoid. Ronan & Doria both knew that Sonia was a magnet for trouble, from past expeiriance. Now with a larger group & the Imperial messanger, things would only be worse, especially since someone wanted them dead.

'Is it safe?' Ronan asked anxiously.

'No,' Sonia replied. 'In fact, it's wors-'

There was a roar.

They all flinched, & slowly turned & looked behind them...

To see a dragon flying towards them.

* * *

><p>'RUN!' Sonia shouted.<p>

They ran for cover, ducking behind some rocks. The dragon swooped over them, breathing ice aimed at them. As they ducked for cover, the dragon flew overhead.

Sonia sent a few arrows in it's direction. One of them managed to rip the dragon's wing, but not enough to bring it down. The dragon swung around & landed in behind them, causing them to leap over the rocks as it breathed more ice.

Baurest & Maurmon both leapt over the rocks, weapons at the ready. They immediately ran at the dragon, hoping to keep it at bay. While they were doing that, Sonia & Cormer were attacking from a distance, while Ronan lead Zenia & Doria off to the side, hoping that the others would provide a good enough distraction.

As Baurest & Maurmon attacked the dragon, the beast tried to bite them. Maurmon avoided the attack with ease, while Baurest only just got out of the way, leaving the dragon to bite the air.

Sonia sent another arrow into the air, which embedded itself in the dragon's eye. As it reared back in pain, Cormer sent a shock spell into it's neck, temporarily paralysing it. This allowed Baurest & Maurmon to regroup & get ready to continue the fight.

The two Companions held off the dragon a little longer, but the attack soon failed, as the dragon was able to grab hold of Maurmon in his jaws as he just finished his attack.. As the dragon shook him, Maurmon lost conscious & was flung him in Baurest's direction, bringing both Redguards to the ground. Baurest recovered, but was then cut down by a frosty blast, which took him by surprise, bringing him to his knees.

At that moment, Ronan appeared on the dragon's back. He brung Wuuthrad down on the dragon's head. Hard.

There was a sharp 'CRACK!' & while it didn't kill the dragon, it did stun it, allowing Zenia & Doria to attack. They managed to deepen the wound on it's head, but the dragon recovered, & wasted no time shaking the three of them off.

Sonia wasted no time sending another few arrows, thankfully killing the beast permanently.

As the beast died & Sonia began to absorb it's soul, Zenia ran over to Maurmon & Baurest. Baurest was barely awake & Maurmon was still unconscious.

'What do we do?' Zenia asked, concerned.

'I can heal them,' Doria said. 'But it will take time,'

'We'll set up camp here then,' Cormer said.

* * *

><p>Maurmon slowly opened his eyes. He was in a tent, &amp; he was in pain. Looking down, there were a few bandages around his torso, from where the dragon had grabbed him in it's jaws. They weren't bleeding, but they were a bloody red colour.<p>

He sat up, wincing. He looked around, seeing that his armour & weapons was to one side. He also saw a few potions & had no doubt that they were Doria's.

The tent door opened, & Zenia came in.

'You're awake,' she said.

'Yeah,' Maurmon said. 'What happened? Where's Baurest?'

'The dragon is dead,' Zenia began. 'After Sonia killed it, we set up camp. Don't worry: Baurest is fine. Cold, but fine,'

'That's good to know,' Maurmon said, relieved.

Zenia sat down next to him. She gasped when she saw the bandages wrapped around Maurmon's torso & shoulders.

'Does it hurt?' She asked, voice full of worry.

'Just a bit,' He replied. 'Not to worry, it's just a few more scars to the collection,'

There was a small silence. Maurmon then spoke up:

'Can I ask you something?' He said.

'Sure,' Zenia replied.

'Why were you chosen to bring the chancellor the Dragonborn? I mean, wouldn't it be easier to sent a normal courier or a soldier?'

'Because,' Zenia said. 'My father was an Imperial officer,'

'Wait...,' Maurmon said, realising something. 'You're family name is 'Gratus' isn't it?'

Zenia nodded.

'The only officer with that name was...,' Maurmon began.

'Commander Treotas Gratus,'

Maurmon looked amazed. Then a smile appeared on his face. 'Well then,' He said. 'Tell me what happened,'


	10. The Chancellor's Call

**Okay, this chapter is basically Zenia telling the story.**

**Yeah, it's short. I know.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>'It all started when we got news that the Chancellor had been elected to rule Tamriel until a new Emperor was selected or an heir was found,' Zenia began.<p>

'That was around three weeks ago,' Maurmon said.

'As you know, my father was one of the Palace Guards. So he knew the Chancellor due to being in the palace half the time,'

'Was he his bodyguard?'

'No, but he soon became well acquainted with the chancellor when he was promoted to commander,'

'What happened when he retired?'

'He became a blacksmith. He makes the armour & weapons for the watch & repairs them when they break or no longer meet the standards,'

'Do you still live near the palace? Or are you living elsewhere?'

'We live on the Waterfront,'

'With the beggars? How can you trust them with the forge & armour?'

'My father is a well respected man. No one would dare to lay a finger on him,'

'Fair enough. Continue,'

'About a week later, we were summoned to the Chancellor's chambers. When we got there, he began to speak to us:

'I have called upon the two of you because I know I can trust you two,' He said. 'I need one or both of you to relay a message out to Skyrim,'

'What's the message, my lord?' Father asked.

'That I need the Dragonborn to come to the palace immediately,' He replied. 'I have urgent need of her services,'

'How long will it take to get the message across?' I asked.

'A few weeks hopefully,' He replied. 'Come back when you've made your decision. You have until the end of the day,'

We stepped out into the corridor & father turned to me. He then spoke:

'Listen,' He said. 'I want you deliver this message. I'll stay here,'

'But father-'

'I can't leave the Imperial City. The guards need armour & what happens if something goes wrong with the Chancellor? We've already lost the Emperor & Tamriel is already in chaos. I'm too old to go adventuring around Tamriel anyway,'

There was a brief silence between the two of us. 'Are you sure?'

'I know that you can do this,' He said. 'I can't keep you in the city forever. I need you to see Tamriel with you own eyes, not from what I've told you. I may be a good man for stories, but you have to experience things for your self, Zenia,'

After a moment's thought, I looked him in the eyes & told him that I would do it. After I told the chancellor that I would get the message to Sonia, I was given the royal orders & was told to board the next ship to Windhelm, which was the next day,'

'Which leads us to now,'

There was a pause. Zenia looked around the tent & saw through the door that it was quickly getting dark.

'It's getting late,' Zenia said, startled at the realisation of the time. 'I should let you rest,'

'That might be a good idea,' Maurmon said, chuckling. 'Good night,'

'Good night,' Zenia said, leaving. 'Please take it easy for now,'

'I'll try,'


	11. The Blizzard & The Cave

They were on the move again after a few days. Maurmon's condition had improved (Thanks to the healing spells used by Doria), so Doria was able to remove the bandages that were wrapped around his torso. While this did make it easier to move, he still was injured, shown when he went to swing his sword experimentally, causing him to hurt his shoulder, so they were taking it slow for now.

As they began to move, they weather began to change. Being out in the tundra, they noticed this quickly. The wind began to pick up, which made the once silent landscape filled with the howls of hollow wind. As they moved on, the sky became darker & as the wind picked up even more, it became clear they were in the middle of a full blown blizzard.

'Ronan!' Sonia shouted over the howling wind. 'We gotta get out of this blizzard! We'll die if we don't,'

'I know!' He shouted back. 'I saw a cave up ahead. Follow me!'

Ronan lead them into the cave. As they entered, they noticed that it wasn't occupied. It also wasn't overly large, but it was large enough to set up bedrolls & a small fire towards the entrance, allowing the smoke to escape & the heat to remain inside the cave.

'How far is Dawnstar from here?' Baurest asked, sitting down on his bedroll.

'About five hours,' Ronan replied. 'We would of been there by nightfall,'

'Or earlier,' Cormer said.

'When do you think this blizzard will die down?' Zenia asked.

'Who knows?' Doria said. 'It could be anywhere from a few hours to a few days. All we can do is sit & wait,'

* * *

><p>Several hours had passed. The blizzard had died down, but by the time it did, night had fallen. They had decided that the best descision would be to wait until morning before moving on.<p>

They slept. The night was cold, but the heat from the fire was comforting. However, Zenia couldn't sleep. She sighed, sat up & looked around. The first thing she noticed was that Maurmon wasn't in his bedroll. She frowned & looked towards the entrance. He was sitting there, looking out at the sky.

She got up & walked over to him. As she approached, Maurmon looked up to see her sitting next to him.

'Can't sleep?' He asked.

'No,' Zenia said. She looked over to him & realised that he was still in his sleeping clothes, which was only a pair of pants. She could feel her face getting hot as she saw his bare chest & several scars.

'How did you get these scars?' Zenia asked.

'Mostly sword fights,' Maurmon replied. 'Though on the occasion I was attacked by animals or ambushed,'

There was a pause. Maurmon began to watch the Aurora above them. Zenia looked up & watched the northern lights above. She watched as they danced across the sky, lighting it up with it's beautiful light.

'It's a beautiful night,' Zenia said.

'Yes,' Maurmon agreed. 'We never get the Aurora in Hammerfell,'

'We don't get it either in Cyrodiil,' Zenia said.

'What's life like in the Imperial City anyway? Is it any different to here in Skyrim?' Maurmon asked.

'Very. For a start there isn't many places where there's a lot of vegetation,' Zenia began. 'Occasionally you'll see a tree or a bush in a few areas, but most of the city is shops, taverns & homes,'

'Sounds different from Hammerfell,' Maurmon said.

'What's it like? Is it true that it's a large desert?'

'Well, you certainly don't see forests like the ones here in Skyrim,' Maurmon said, chuckling. 'It's a very hostile environment. Sentinel, the city Baurest & I are from, is the trading port of Hammerfell, so there are several markets set around the docks,'

'Are there any plants?'

'A few. Mainly cacti & other plants that need little water, although there are tales of oasises in the desert. They are said to have one or two trees,'

There was a brief silence. Zenia shivered.

'We should probably head inside,' Zenia said.

'Yeah,'

As they went back inside the cave, Maurmon turned to Zenia.

'I'll see you in the morning,' He whispered.

'You too,' Zenia whispered back.


	12. The Heron

**Man, do I hate being sick. **

**At least I can update earlier. You might get another chapter from me today.**

* * *

><p>In the past five years, Dawnstar had gone from a port that was regularly attacked by pirates, to a port that now had proper protection, wit several watch towers in place. There hadn't been a major attack to date, so the locals were at ease.<p>

Entering the town, they were pleased to find out from the dock master that the next ship to the Imperial City was coming into port the next day, so they were free to spend the day in Dawnstar, not having to worry about the cold weather for once. They spent the night in the inn, grateful to be indoors after a brutal journey.

After a night of relaxing in the inn, the ship or 'The Heron' as it was known, was at the docks. The Heron was a well known cargo & passenger ship that ran goods & transported passengers throughout all of Tamriel. It was certainly well equipped to do so too: Not only was is massive in size, it seemed to be relatively well armed, as there were more than a dozen cannons on board.

As the last of the crew members loaded the cargo onto the ship, the last of the passengers & the group climbed aboard. There wasn't just travellers with them: there were mercenaries, merchants & several other aboard with them.

As The Heron left the dock, leaving solid land behind, the captain came onto the deck to address the passengers.

'Welcome to the Heron,' He shouted over the crashing waves. 'I'll remind you that you should be below deck by nightfall, & that if you steal any of the cargo I won't hesitate to throw you overboard, which will put your plans on hold. Otherwise, enjoy the ride,'

* * *

><p>After the welcome from the captain, the day was spent sorting out cabins, exchanging stories with some of the other passengers &amp; enjoying the view on deck. A few of them had already broke out the wine, so some of the party guests were already starting to get drunk.<p>

Luckily for Zenia, no one realised that she was the Imperial messenger, so she was left alone. Unfortunately though, people had recognised Sonia, so she was busy trying to get away from them as they tried to ask her endless questions. This was amusing for her companions, as she desperately tried

Unfortunately, not everyone was enjoying the cruise. While most of the group was fine at sea, Ronan was busy being seasick over the side of the ship. to escape the crowd.

While this was going on, Ronan was being seasick over the side of the boat. While he had been on boats before, he wasn't as used to the rocking motion as the others.

'Finally!' Sonia shouted, sitting down. 'I thought I'd never get rid of them,'

'What did they ask you?' Doria asked.

'You know, the usual. 'What was Sovngarde like?' 'Did you really kill Alduin?' 'Do the Greybeards want you to become their apprentice?'. Ughh,'

'Well, at least you were able to lose them,' Maurmon said.

'That's true,' Sonia said, removing her mask. 'Hey Ronan! How's the trip for you so far?'

Ronan said something that sounded alot like 'Fuck you'.

'Aw. No need to be rude because you're sick,' Sonia taunted.

'I told you,' Ronan said, after a nausea spell. 'I get seasick easily. Why do you think I haven't-'

Ronan stopped & began vomiting over the side of the ship again as another spell took over.

'Just keep it over the side of my ship, hurling beauty,' The captain said, walking over. 'Otherwise you'll be the one cleaning it up,'

'What can we do for you, sir?' Cormer asked.

'You,' He said, gesturing towards Sonia. 'Your the Dragonborn, right?'

'Yes,' Sonia sighed. 'What do you want to know now?'

'You're travelling with the Imperial messanger. Where is she?' The captain asked.

'Why does it matter?' Baurest said.

The captain sat down. Ronan, deciding he was done vomiting, sat down too.

'I was given specific orders to make sure she boarded my ship,' The captain said in a low voice. 'Now that I've found you,' He gestured to Sonia. 'I know who the messanger is,' He gestured to Zenia. 'Figures the Chancellor would send an Imperial,'

'How do we know you wont throw us overboard while we sleep?' Ronan asked. 'You may be a Nord, but I know that kinsman can turn on kinsman,'

The captain said nothing & took out a piece of paper with the Imperial seal on it. He handed it to Ronan. Ronan began to read it, muttering something under his breath.

'Fair enough,' Ronan said handing the note back to the captain. 'I can't argue with orders,'

'I've alerted the crew so that if there is an attack, they will react accordingly,' The captain said, standing up. 'If there's anything you need, let me know,'


	13. Attack On The Seas

BOOM!

Zenia woke, startled. She could here several men shouting & she could here people running past her door.

She got up & quickly got dressed. As she was about to leave, she heard someone banging on her door.

'Zenia!'

Zenia opened the door, only to have Sonia stumble in fully armoured.

'What's going on?' Zenia asked. 'Where is everyone going?'

'Grab your armour & sword. We're being attacked by pirates,' Sonia said.

Sonia left the room as Zenia got ready. They made their way up to the deck. When they walked onto deck, they saw that there was another ship close by, obviously the pirate's, attacking The Heron with it's cannons. The crew members of The Heron returned fire, but they were severely outmatched.

Spotting the others, Sonia & Zenia ran towards then, ducking as the vessel was hit by another cannon.

'How's the fight going so far?' Sonia shouted.

'We're lucky we haven't been sunk yet,' Ronan shouted back. 'These pirates obviously don't know how to work a canno-'

He was interrupted by another cannonball, which landed a little too close to them. As they ducked, they heard the captain calling out to the people on deck.

'Get ready for a fight!' He shouted. 'If you can't wield a weapon, now is a good time to learn!'

As both vessels came into contact with each other, the pirates began to board The Heron. Unfortunately, some of the passengers were killed as they either had no weapons or had weapons but couldn't fight. The mercenaries however, were able to put up a bit more of a fight.

Thankfully, Ronan, Maurmon & Baurest had the sense to not go into werewolf form. That would do more harm than good. However, Sonia was taking full advantage of being Dragonborn.

While the crew, any mercenaries able to fight, any passenger still alive & the group were fighting for their lives they were outmatched, with several of the pirates weilding dual weapons.

As Zenia cut down a pirate, another one caught her by surprise. Just as he was going to deliver a crippling blow, he was stabbed through the chest from behind.

As the pirate fell to the side, the savior turned out to be Maurmon.

'Thank you,' Zenia said.

Maurmon smiled, but it soon turned serious again as a pirate ran at Zenia from behind. Rushing forward, he pushed her out of the way in time to intercept the pirate. As Zenia got up, she saw Maurmon being quickly overpowered & stabbed the pirate, causing him to fall.

'Thank you,' Maurmon said.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ship, Baurest was trying to defend a few of the injured crew members. He was able to hold off most of the bandits, but they were slowly outnumbering him.

He continued to fight, but was shot by an archer in the shoulder, causing him to drop one of his axes. Just as a pirate closed in, the pirate was struck in the back by what seemed to be a knife.

Baurest looked in the direction of the knife to see Doria had thrown it. Before he could thank her, he saw a pirate trying to take her from behind, causing him to throw one of his axes.

As the pirate fell, Baurest called out to Doria.

'Help me defend the crew!'

At the wheel, the captain was fighting back to back with Ronan. With both of them being experienced fighters, they weren't having too much trouble keeping the pirates away from the wheel.

'So,' the captain said. 'I hear that you're the Harbinger of the Companions,'

'Yeah,' Ronan replied casually, as if they weren't in the middle of a battle. 'I've always wondered: What's it like to be on the seas all the time?'

'This is coming from a man who was seasick a few days ago,'

'I've still wondered what it's like,'

'Let's say that there is never a boring trip,'

As they continued to fight, Cormer & Sonia were making their way towards the wheel.

'If we could just take care of these pirates in one shot!' Sonia said.

'The captain might have an idea!' Cormer replied. 'Come on!'

As they made their way over, the captain saw them & spoke:

'You two know how to use fire right? Burn their ship down!' He shouted over the fight.

Sonia & Cormer wasted no time burning the pirate's ship. With Cormer using all of his fire spells & Sonia using her Fire shout, the pirates were forced to evacuate. This had no effect, as the ship was soon submerged underwater & many of the pirates drowned. Those who survived were taken hostage, to be sent to the Imperial City Prison.

While a majority of the people aboard The Heron was unharmed or not critically injured, there were some that were killed. The captain had told the 'lucky' ones as he called them that they would send word back to their families, informing them of their loss.

After the prisoners had been dealt with, most of the day was spent either tending to the wounded or repairing the ship. The captain counted the cargo, in case some of the cannonballs had destroyed the cargo hold, which would of been a disaster. Luckily, most of the cargo was intact, with only a few crates lost or damaged.

'Take what you want from these crates,' The captain said to the remaining passengers. 'I have no use for them anymore,'

There wasn't anything of particular value in the crates (Considering most of it was destroyed or unusable). There were a few items, such as healing agents & food that could be used & a few septims, but nothing else.

Night had fallen & most of the crew had made what repairs they could. They were all below deck. The captain had told them that they would be in Cyrodiil by the end of the week, & in the City by the start of the next.

The captain really needed to get to the city. If they were attacked again, they wouldn't survive.


	14. The Imperial City

In the early hours of the morning, they had reached Cyrodiil. Around midday, the Imperial City came into view, the passengers made their way onto the deck. As The Heron made it's way along the Upper Niben, the crew began to move the cargo to the deck, making it easier for the dockworkers to access. The captain ordered that the pirates that they captured were put in chains & brought on deck, so that they could be handed over to the Watch.

As they came closer to the city, the passengers couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of Cyrodiil. Unlike Skyrim that was cold & full of forests, tundra & alpine, Cyrodill had pleasent weather & had plains that surrounded the Imperial City, with a few small forests & islands scattered around the lake. These were uninhabited, but the occasional mudcrab or Nirnroot could be seen.

'Well, it's nice to be back in Cyrodiil,' Sonia said. 'I forgot how beautiful it could be. When you're not being chased by animals,'

'Or being attacked by bandits,' Doria added.

'Aren't they the same thing?' Ronan added with a laugh.

As the vessel pulled into the Waterfront, the dockworkers began to unload the cargo, while the passengers began to climb off the vessel. As the group stepped off, they took a moment to look around the docks. There were a few other ships that were docked, with one serving as an inn, not a ship.

'So,' Ronan said, turning to Zenia. 'Where's your house? Not to mention your father,'

'Follow me,' Zenia said. 'It's close by,'

Zenia lead them behind the main Waterfront building, revealing the homes of what was believed to be the poor. However, Zenia explained:

'Many think these are the homes of the poor, but that's not the case,' Zenia explained.

'Then who do they belong to?' Cormer asked.

'People who aren't poor but know the right people,' Zenia said.

'Like the Grey Fox,' Sonia mumbled.

She lead them to one of the houses towards the edge of the area. The house had a fully equipped forge, with someone working metal there. As they approached, the blacksmith stopped his work & looked up. He looked at Zenia & a smile spread across his face. He was about Zenia's height & certainly looked like her. He was clean shaven & he looked young but was starting to show signs of aging, particularily in his oak-coloured hair.

Zenia ran up to him & gave him a hug, almost knocking him over in the process. As he hugged back, the rest of the group approached them.

'So, this must be your father,' Cormer said.

'Better known as the retired Commander of the watch,' Sonia said.

'So true,' He said. 'You must be the Dragonborn,'

'Yes,'

'Well, we can't stay outside for the rest of the day,' Treotas said. 'Come in,'

* * *

><p>Once Zenia &amp; her father had caught up, they spent the remainder of the day talking outside in the pleasant weather, spending some time out of their armour. Cormer, Zenia, Ronan &amp; Doria were talking, Sonia was teaching Treotus a few smithing techniques she had picked up, and Baurest &amp; Maurmon were practicing sword &amp; axe drills while talking.<p>

'So,' Baurest said. 'What do you think Quaceius needs Sonia for?'

'Who knows,' Maurmon responded, blocking his brother with his wooden sword. 'I just hope they let three werewolves into the palace,'

'Trust me, they won't know,' Baurest said, swiping at Maurmon with his wooden axe. 'It's not like we can't control ourselves. They don't make you part of the Circle if you can't control yourself. Not to mention you have to survive the ritual,'

'That's true,'

As they continued the fight, Baurest spoke up again.

'Can I ask you something?'

'You just did,'

'Haha. You're so funny. Anyway, I was just wondering how things are between you & Zenia,'

'What do you mean?'

'Well, it would seem,' Baurest began, blocking Maurmon. 'That you two are...'close','

'What kind of 'close','

'I mean, as in you're more than...friends,'

Maurmon took the chance to disarm Baurest. He did so, sending the wooden axe to the side.

'If you mean in that way, then no,' Maurmon said, pointing the sword at him. 'You're dead,'

Baurest said nothing & picked up his axe. They then continued the mock fight.

'Besides,' Maurmon said. 'It's not like she would be interested in me. I'm a werewolf,'

'That hasn't stopped you in the past,'

'We were in Hammerfell. Conversation over,' Maurmon put his sword down & walked off.

'Sure it is,' Baurest muttered.


	15. The Chancellor

**Okay, announcement time.**

**Something's come up. So starting from after this chapter, once a week on Sundays, I will update. This means the story will progress slower than I wanted. I will update again on Sunday. **

**Yes, it is short. Sorry.**

* * *

><p>Eventually, they decided that they needed to see the Chancellor, so they began to make their way towards the White Gold Tower. As they walked through the city, they soon found themselves walking through the markets, with vendors trying to sell things to the crowd. While some were successful, others were failing, either losing the crowd's attention or being called a liar. A few of the merchants attempted to sell things to them as they passed, but they kept moving forward.<p>

Making their way through, Sonia & Ronan began to notice that most of the city seemed to be made of stone, similar to Markarth. In fact, Ronan said that he would compare it to Markarth, stating that there wasn't much vegetation here. Sonia said that the city had plants more than Markarth, considering it's Dwarven roots. Ronan agreed, but argued that the Imperial City was flat terrain, not full of stairs. Sonia then asked what that meant, stating that it didn't make any sense.

As they approached the palace, one of the guards approached them, armour gleaming in the sunlight.

'Commander,' He greeted saluting him. 'Are you here for another shipment of armour?'

'No,' Treotas said. 'Tell the chancellor that the Dragonborn is here,'

Walking through the tower, they were escorted by Palace Guards to the Chancellor's chambers. While most citizens were only permitted on the first two floors, Treotas had gotten a glimpse of the upper levels, but only the hallways due to where he was posted.

As they entered the Chancellor's chambers, they saw a man sitting at the desk. He was a middle-aged Imperial, with slightly long ebony hair. He was growing a beard, & was wearing the robes of someone with high authority, but not the clothes of the Emperor. He did not wear the crown, so it wasn't surprising that some people didn't want to follow him.

'Ahh, Zenia. Good to see you have returned,' The chancellor said, getting up from his desk. 'Which one of your companions is Sonia Oakblade?'

'I am sir,' Sonia said, stepping forward.

'I'll need proof,' The chancellor said.

Sonia looked around. She saw that there was a bookcase filled with books on the tales that were commonly told around campfires & legends passed down in different provinces. There were several other things that were reserved for high class citizens (Or in this case, the acting Emperor of Tamriel) such as a wardrobe, no doubt filled with elegant robes. There was even a potted Nirnroot plant, which is considerably rare.

'Do you need this?' She said, pointing to the bookcase.

'No. Why?'

Sonia turned & faced it. 'FUS RO DAH!'


	16. Plan Of Action

**I know it's late. I had work, I've only just gotten back. It's a short chapter too.**

* * *

><p>After Sonia had proven herself to be the Dragonborn (And the guards had been assured that the Chancellor was NOT being attacked), the Chancellor lead them to his war room. The room was dark, but had decent lighting around the main table. On the table (Which took up a large portion of the room) there was a map of Tamriel, with incredible details on all of the cities, holds &amp; towns. There was even detail for the mountains. On certain locations of the map, there seemed to be flags. They were a sort of grey colour, &amp; they seemed to be in the other provinces, near the capitals.<p>

Around the room, there were several weapon stands, with a suit of armour that appeared to be Akaviri. There was a bookcase, containing information on the provinces, the history of Tamriel & several books on the wars that dotted the timeline. Towards the back of the room, there was the Imperial banner.

'So,' Sonia said. 'What's this 'emergency' that you need me for?'

'As you know,' Quaceius began. 'With the assasination of the emperor, Tamriel is in turmoil,'

'We didn't notice,' Ronan mumbled.

'Ronan, please,' Doria whispered.

'Here's the thing: When the body was discovered, there was this symbol on a paper near his body,'

He handed Sonia a piece of paper, with a symbol on it.

The exact same symbol on the note found on the bandits.

'Zenia,' Sonia said, turning to her. 'That note we found on the bandits...do you still have it?'

'Here,' She said, taking it out & handing it to her.

Sonia examined both notes. 'The exact same symbol,' She said.

'Let me see the note,' Quaceius said.

Sonia handed him both notes. After a quick examination, he seemed upset.

'So, what does it mean?' Cormer asked.

Quaceius sighed. 'I don't think this was a coincidence. I think someone wants Tamriel to suffer,' Quaceius said, putting the notes down. 'Look. I appreciate how far you have all come,' He said, talking to Sonia's companions. 'But, I don't think that Sonia would want to risk your lives against-'

'Against what?' Sonia said. 'Look. I know that these guys are all capable fighters. I've fought with all of them at least once. I know that if it came down to it, I can trust them,'

Quaceius looked at them. He sighed. 'Treotas-'

'I know sir. And I'm not going with them,'

'Okay. What's been happening is that there have been reports from Valenwood & Hammerfell,' Quaceius explained.

'What cities are the reports coming from?' Doria asked.

'In Valenwood, Falenesti. In Hammerfell, Sentinel,'

'Sentinel?' Baurest asked, concerned.

'What's happened in Sentinel?' Maurmon asked.

'We don't know. All we know that there have been reports of an assassination plot in Valenwood, & strange, dark skies in Hammerfell. It's not up to me how you approach this. You can choose to go to Valenwood first & Hammerfell later or vice versa. Here are your orders,'

Quaceius handed Sonia a scroll. 'Thank you sir,'

'Please,' The Chancellor said. 'Settle this quickly,'

As they went to leave, Sonia turned around. 'Chancellor!'

'Yes?'

Sonia took an elaborate scroll out. It seemed to be glowing. she handed it to the Chancellor.

'You're lucky I didn't sell this to the College of Winterhold,' she said. 'This belongs to you,'

The Chancellor took the scroll. 'It's been 205 years since this was stolen from the library. Thank you,'


	17. Part II: Boat To Valenwood

After spending a good week in the Imperial City, they had agreed to set sail for Valenwood. Surprisingly, Baurest & Maurmon didn't object, despite Sentinel being listed as one of the cities in distress. So, they had booked a ship to Valenwood, to find that it would be another five days until the ship came in. So they spent the week resting & looking around the city.

One night, Doria & Sonia were in a tavern, when there was a sellsword trying to be hired. He was a Breton, he had black hair & was wearing regular clothing, with a cloak & Steel Plate Boots. He had a sword, as well as a lute.

'Why hire an ordinary warrior or mage, when you can have both? Not to mention I'm a bard' they heard him say as they sat at the bar.

Sonia took interest, approaching him. 'How much are you charging?' She asked.

'500 septims,' the Breton replied.

Sonia winced at the price. 'I'll make you a deal,' she began. '100 septims,'

'500. Take it or-'

'And a brawl,'

The Breton though it over. He then stood up. 'Come on. Show me what you've got,'

They both got up & walked to the middle of the bar.

'Sonia-' Doria said desperately.

'Doria, I've killed plenty of dragons. I'm not going to bleed to death over a bar brawl,'

They both got into brawl position. The bartender spoke:

'If anyone is killed, I won't hesitate to call the guards. Otherwise, everybody stand back,'

The brawl commenced. Sonia managed to hit the Breton a few times, & he hit back. After a few exchanged hits, the sellsword went down on one knee.

'Alright!' he said, coughing. 'You win,'

Sonia lowered her fists. 'You fight well,' She said, wiping the blood from her lip.

The Breton got up. 'Here,' He said, giving Sonia the 100 gold. 'You've earned it,'

'Keep it,' Sonia said. 'Consider it your payment,'

The Breton nodded. 'So, where are we going?'

* * *

><p>When the passenger ship pulled in (which was called 'Otus') the group soon learned that there wasn't a city that had a port in Valenwood, so they would be taking them to an outpost, which would be in reasonably close range of the capital, but still a far walk from it. The port was also quite small, as the Wood elves were not willing to destroy the forests they called home.<p>

Thoreien, the sellsword that Sonia hired, hadn't left the city since he had come from High Rock, which was a good 6 years ago, so when Sonia told him they would be going to Valenwood, he was excited.

'They say that the Bosmer live in the trees. Do you think this is true?' He asked her.

'I'm not sure,' Sonia replied. 'I'd tell you if I knew. We'll find out, wont we?'

When they boarded the Otus, they soon found out that it was nowhere near as big & as elaborate as The Heron. It was also leaking a bit, so there was a danger of slipping. They were talking, while Thoreien played his lute.

'Ugh. From a well-paid cargo ship to a leaking passenger ship in need of repairs. What a week,' Ronan complained.

'Oh please,' Baurest said. 'It could be worse,'

'I'll agree with that,' Cormer said.

'Besides. It's not like we'll be attacked like last time,' Zenia said.

'What do you mean by that? We are on the open sea!' Ronan argued.

'Think about it, genius. The Heron was a well-known, highly paid ship. The Otus is a not-so-well-known ship that leaks. If I were a pirate, I would go after The Heron,' Sonia argued.

'She has a point,' Maurmon said.

Ronan tried to say something, but got cut off by the Imperial captain coming below deck.

'Not many people usually go to the same place in one journey,' He said. 'Usually I go to several provinces at once. I wonder what makes you lot so interested in Valenwood?'

'We just all happen to be travelling to the same place,' Sonia said.

The captain smiled at her. His smile then turned to a frown. 'You look familiar,'

'Really?' Sonia asked. 'Because I've never seen you before,'

'Well, I think I have,'

'You must have me mistaken with someone else. I'm just an adventurer with very good armour,'

'I guess you're right,' The captain said, going back up to deck.

When they were sure he left, Thoreien spoke: 'Why did you say that?'

Sonia sighed. 'Look, I'm just gonna say it: I'm the Dragonborn,'

Thoreien looked surprised. 'Really?'

'Not so loud! I'm trying to keep a low profile,' Sonia explained. 'If people figure out who I am, we're going to attract unwanted attention,'

'From those bandits that attacked us?' Zenia asked.

'For some reason, I think I've seen that symbol before,' Sonia said. 'I just don't know where,'

'What does that symbol look like?' Thoreien asked.

'Here,' Sonia said, taking out the hit note. 'Look at the symbol at the bottom of the page,'

Thoreien looked at the note. 'Harbinger?' He questioned.

'It's a rank in the Companions,' Ronan said.

Thoreien continued to read the note. 'I think I've seen that symbol too,' He said, handing the note back to Sonia. 'With one of my other clients,'

'Do you know where?' Cormer asked.

'No,' Thoreien said. 'The client was an adventurer. We saw it in a cave once. A few days later, someone sent hired goons on him,'

'Let me guess. He got killed?' Ronan asked.

'Yes. I was stranded in Hammerfell for a week,' Thoreien said with a laugh.


	18. In The Forest

**Considering that for the next three weeks I have no school work, I figured that I should update more often.**

* * *

><p>The group was sleeping in peacefully (Or as peacefully as you could on a leaky boat) when the captain came in &amp; woke them.<p>

'Alright get up! We are in Valenwood!'

They woke up, grumbling at the captain. 'Shut up before I rip your throat out,' Ronan said under his breath.

'Well, at least we'll be off of this ship,' Zenia said.

'I agree. After a week in this bloody thing, It'll be good to be on dry land,' Sonia said.

As they climbed off the ship, they took a look around the makeshift port: It wasn't large like the Imperial City, and there were no permanent buildings, Just makeshift huts made of imported wood. But, the great forest that stretched across the province could be seen behind the port, a constant reminder that they could not expand any further.

'Well, this is certainly not a big port,' Ronan said. 'There's no inns. No markets. No-'

'No Nords stating the obvious,' Sonia said.

'Haha, you're so funny,' Ronan said sarcasticaly.

'Don't use sarcasm. That's my job,'

They made their way through, which didn't take long. They did manage to find a vendor that sold supplies, but it wasn't much. Not to mention that the vendor said that the next shipment of goods would be coming in for a few weeks.

'Let's hope we get to Falenesti fast,' Cormer said. 'It doesn't look like these supplies will last long,'

'And then, hope the Bosmer can spare some supplies,' Baurest said. 'Otherwise, this is going to be a long journey,'

* * *

><p>They began to make their way through the forest. There wasn't an obvious path, so they often tripped over vines &amp; tree roots. Some of the terrain was flat, so they made quick progress. But it always changed back to the harsh terrain fast.<p>

A few hours into the trekk, & they somehow managed to find a clearing with a small lake. This was a blessing, as this gave them a chance to relax for a while.

Thoreien & Sonia were sitting on the rocks nearby. Doria & Baurest were also sitting on the rocks, but they were on the other side of the lake. Cormer, Ronan, Zenia & Maurmon were messing around in the pool.

'So, why are you in Valenwood?' Thoreien asked Sonia.

'If I tell you, you can't tell anyone,' Sonia said. 'If we get discovered, we might be as good as dead,'

'Alright. I understand,'

'We are on orders by the Chancellor to fing out what's going on around Tamriel,' Sonia explained, handing Thoreien the scroll. 'Here's the official document,'

While Sonia & Thoreien were talking, Maurmon & Zenia were messing around in the pool. There were originally swimming, but it soon esculated into a splash fight. It wasn't long before Cormer & Ronan joined in, which resulted in water going everywhere. Baurest & Doria laughed as Sonia eventually got pulled into the water, resulting in her pulling Thoreien down with her.

After a few hours, they settled down, deciding to camp at the small lake. They would continue the journey the next day.


	19. Long Nights

**Short chapter ahead. Just warning you. More of a description chapter really.**

* * *

><p>Night had finally fallen. While normally this didn't bother them, tonight was different. Normally, the stars would light up the sky, or the aurora for those who lived in Skyrim, particularly in the far north. However, due to being in the most dense forest in Tamriel &amp; the only known forest covering an entire province, there was no night sky, even in the small clearing. The only source of light they had was the campfire &amp; even that didn't help much against the looming darkness. It was almost like the darkness of the forest was threatening to swallow their only light source.<p>

Another factor was that much of the forest limited their vision, hence whenever there was an unexplained sound, they would all be on edge for a few minutes before trying to get back to sleep again. Another problem was that if they could explain the sound & it was something hostile, they would have to prepare for the worst, even though nothing happened. This happened several times throughout the night, which made them more on edge as time passed. At one point, they heard a wolf howling, so they were forced to stay awake for a good two hours while trying not to fall asleep in an attempt to make sure they weren't attacked.

In a last ditch attempt to get some sleep, they had one person on watch at a time. The only person that got to be on watch was Ronan because after about an hour, he was beginning to fall asleep. As he went to lie down, he knocked his armour, which was lying nearby, making a huge racket. This of course, woke the rest of the group as well as Ronan, who had to quickly assure them that they weren't under attack. Once everybody calmed down, they tried to go back to sleep & decided to forget about a watch person.

As the night progressed, it became progressively harder to sleep. Eventually, they grew tired of the constant interruptions & just sat around the fire for the remainder of the night, which luckily was only a few hours. By the time dawn broke, they were exhausted & while they wanted to sleep, they probably would of woken up at that time anyway. They had a long day ahead of them.


	20. Escorts & Soldiers

Sonia could of sworn she heard a bow being drawn behind them. As she turned around to check, hand on the hilt of her sword, she saw a figure, bow drawn.

'Don't move. All of you,'

They all turned & froze. In response, the figure drew his bow back further.

'Freeze. Or I'll put an arrow through all of you,'

Slowly, they raised their hands above their heads.

Upon closer inspection, Sonia discovered that the figure was a Wood elf. He was short, like all Wood elves, but taller than Doria. He had long hair & was wearing armour that was made of leather & some animal bones. He had dark hair & his eyes were dark.

'I am Sonia Oakblade,' Sonia said. 'We are here on the chancellor's orders,'

'The Dragonborn?' The elf questioned. 'Where are these 'orders','

Sonia handed the elf the scroll. The elf out down his bow & began to read. Once the elf was done reading, he handed the scroll back to Sonia.

'Well, in that case I'm Dondas,' He said, shaking Sonia's hand.

'Can you take us to Falenesti?' Baurest asked.

'I can show you the way. Follow me,'

Dondas began to lead them through the forest. Along the way, he asked questions about life outside of Valenwood.

'So,' He began. 'Three of you are from Hammerfell, three of you are from Skyrim, and the other two are from High Rock & Cyrodiil,'

'That's right,' Maurmon said.

'I've always wondered: Is it true that you live on the ground?' Dondas questioned.

''Is it true you live in the trees?' Thoreien asked.

'Yes,'

'Then yes for us too,'

For a few minutes, it was quiet. The group was finding it difficult to follow Dondas, as he moved at a fast pace. They were practically sprinting after him.

'How long until we reach Falenesti?' Zenia asked.

'Well, you had continued on your own, you would reach Falenesti in a few days,' Dondas began. 'But now that you have me, we'll be there by tomorrow,'

'Do you know shortcuts?' Doria asked.

'A few,' Dondas said. 'Most of them you wont be able to take, but there are a few that we can take on the ground.

After a day of what Dondas said was good progress, they made camp. Dondas then explained the hunting 'rules'.

'You may hunt in these forests,' Dondas said. 'But in return, you must not eat any vegetation & all meat on the animal must be eaten,'

'Why?' Thoreien asked.

'Because of the pact made by the first elves,' Dondas explained. 'We may live on these grounds, in exchange for protecting them, not destroying the vegetation & eating all animals we slay within three days,'

* * *

><p>Unlike the previous night, the group was able to get some sleep. With reassurance that they wouldn't be attacked by Dondas, they were able to sleep for a couple of hours.<p>

However, when they woke up they were certainly not alone.

Ronan woke up when he heard footsteps. He sat up & saw figures surrounding them, bows drawn.

'Guys! get up!' He shouted. 'We're surrounded!'

The group woke & immediatley drew their weapons.

'Don't,' Dondas said. 'Their footsoldiers for the king,'

'That's right,' One of them said. 'Kinsman, who are these travellers?'

'Here,' Sonia said. 'Read this,'

Read the script the leader told the other soldiers to lower their weapons.

'We are soldiers for King Athnis Lichenrun of Valenwood. We will escort you to Falenesti,'


	21. The City Of Trees

**Again, this chapter isn't long. Sorry.**

* * *

><p>Lead by the king's foot soldiers, they reached Falenesti within a few hours. Well, at least where it should of been. Looking around, there wasn't any indication of a city, just a massive tree that was covered in vines. They were instructed to climb the trees, which at first, they scoffed at, but when they saw Dondas &amp; a few of the soldiers clamber up, they agreed to do so.<p>

As they reached the top of the tree, they saw that the entire city had been built on top of the trees, using wood & stone imported from the other provinces. It was well built, with enough cover to protect the city from the elements, but enough open space to allow sunlight in & allow a view of the sky. In the distance, the castle was visible, but was on the other side of the town.

As they moved through the town, the leader of the group of guards turned to them & spoke:

'We will send a messenger to find all of you when the King has time to speak,' he said. 'For now, remain in the city,'

As he left, Dondas turned to them.

'I can show you to the inn. Right this way,'

When night fell, the group found out that the night sky provided as much light as it did in the city, so there was no need for lighting outdoors or indoors at night. Dondas informed them that while the rest of the city didn't need torches, the castle had them regardless, due to the building being more closed off. So the inn had a large skylight in the main room & skylights in the guest rooms.

Dondas had retired to his house. He had offered for them to stay, but they refused, stating that he wouldn't have enough room. He reluctantly agreed & left them. They spent a few hours in the inn talking, but then retired for the night. After days of trekking through the forest, they were gratefull to be back inside again.


	22. The Elven King

**Okay, so the internet at dad's was really slow, so here's the chapter I was supposed to post. **

* * *

><p>The next day, the guards came for them &amp; they were escorted to the palace (Which interestingly enough, was made of imported stone, not imported wood like the rest of the city). Intrestingly enough, Dondas was invited into the palace, despite him not having anything to do with the mission. The guards told them that the King had requested that Dondas come with them, because<p>

Entering the castle, they found themselves in a large corridor, with a doorway that lead to the throne room. The foyer has several banners, each bearing the Valenwood sigil & colours. Entering the main room, they immediatley saw the king on his throne. He was dressed in fine robes, wore a crown made of gold that appeared to resemble animal bones, & sat on a stone throne, similar to the Jarl's in Markarth, but different as it was designed to look as if the throne was made of vines. He had two people sitting on either side of him. One was a wood elf clad in bone armour, which indicated that she was his bodyguard. The other was a dark elf in fine clothing, but in no way as fine as the king's. He was his advisor & look displeased at the new arrivals.

'So,' the King said. 'You are the informants from the Chancellor,'

'That's right, your majesty,' Ronan said, bowing.

'Where is the scroll bearing your instructions?' He asked. 'I will need to see the document for proof,'

'Right here,' Sonia said, taking it out & handing it to him. 'It contains all you need to know sire,'

As the King read the scroll, the advisor turned to the king. 'Your majesty. Are you sure the Chancellor has sent them? They could be spies,'

'The document had the Imperial seal on it, Tervdos. I am certain they were sent by Quaceius,' the King said. 'It is impossible to mimic the Imperial seal,'

'Besides,' the bodyguard said. 'Any attempt to double-cross us is punishable by imprisonment. And death if possible,'

'I know that, Galril,' Tervdos spat. 'All I am saying is that there is a possibility that they could be plotting to kill the king. You've heard the rumours haven't you?'

'Of course I have you dark skinned-'

'Enough!' Anthis said, cutting them off. 'You can argue all you want later. But by the Eight, not now,' the King turned to his guests. 'From now on, you shall all be treated as honoured guests in the city. You are more than welcome to stay in the palace,'

'Thank you, sir,' Sonia said.

'As for you,' Anthis said, looking at Dondas. 'As you were the one who escorted them towards Falenesti, you will be rewarded with some gold & you are welcome to stay here, but don't get comfortable. When they leave, you must return to your home,'

'Thank you, my lord,' Dondas said gratefully.


	23. Not So Welcome After All

Negotiations took place in the King's war room, which was similar to the Chancellor's, minus the Akaviri suit of armour, which was replaced with several weapons. Dondas was given his reward (which consisted of 1000 septims) & was given the key to one of the king's guest rooms. He was then sent on his way.

'As you know,' King Anthis said, leaning over the table, careful not to disturb the map of the provinces. 'There have been several rumours of an assassination attempt,'

'We were well aware of that,' Ronan said.

'Just the other day, we found this,' Galril said, taking out a dagger. 'It was behind the throne. It wasn't there before & it certainly wasn't made in Valenwood,'

The dagger was made of a dark metal. It had a gem at the hilt, & the blade wasn't covered by a sheath. As Sonia picked it up to inspect it, the gem glowed red.

'Give that dagger to me,' Cormer said. 'I can do some studying in the library. If you will allow it sire,'

'I will,' Anthis said. 'I need to know who wants me dead so I can take the appropriate actions,'

'Sire,' Tervdos said suddenly. 'Are you sure that we should allow them in the library?' the advisor said nervously. 'They could-'

'Oh shut up already,' Galril said angrily. 'Why would you care if they waltzed around the library? Don't you have better things to do?'

'Would the two of you please take this elsewhere?' Anthis asked, turning to face them. 'If you two are going to fight, please do it when there is no one around,'

'Yes sire,' Galril said.

Tervdos mumbled under his breath.

'My apologies,' Anthis said to the group.

'No problem,' Baurest said. 'Continue,'

'Not only have there been rumours circulating, but some of my guards have reported seeing figures in the shadows,' the King explained. 'They have also complained of there being guards missing from duty,'

'Do you know the cause?' Zenia asked.

'At first, no. But a few days ago, we found one of the helmets from a guard near the edge of the city. Further investigation lead to a skeleton being found,'

'Were there any witnesses?' Doria asked.

'No. This was obviously carried out when there was no one around,'

'If some one is hunting down guards,' Maurmon began. 'Then we probably shouldn't sleep alone,'

'Agreed. There are 2 to 3 beds in each room. You may arrange your sleeping arrangements later. You may leave,' Anthis said.

* * *

><p>Night had fallen. The inhabitants of the palace slept, unaware that someone had snuck into the palace. The mysterious figure had managed to get past the guards &amp; sneak into one of the guest rooms. As the door creaked open, he slipped into the room, seemingly unnoticed. There were two people in the room, both of them men. He had a choice: go after the Nord, who was snoring terribly, or go after the Breton, who was somehow able to stand the noise. He decided to go for the Breton, as the noise would block any sound he made &amp; the Breton might notice if the sound suddenly disappeared.<p>

He drew his blade & approached the Breton. He prepared to strike down on him, sure that he would kill him...

The Breton woke & sent a charge of lightning at the intruder. The intruder screamed as he was sent flying back into the wall. He fell, already dead from the force of the bolt, to the ground.

The noise woke the Nord, making his sit up.

'What was that?' Ronan said startled.

'We had a visitor,' Thoreien said calmly.

'Let me guess. You used your fancy magic to stop him,' Ronan said mockingly.

'Better than using a blade. If it had been you he chose to kill, you wouldn't have been able to kill him,' Thoreien said defensively.

Ronan fell silent.

'We'll deal with him in the morning,' Thoreien grumbled. 'I'm going back to sleep,'


	24. Investigations

**Sadly, after today I have to go back to one chapter a week on Sundays. **

**I'm not ready to go back to school! *sobs***

* * *

><p>After waking up &amp; taking care of the body, the guards were alerted that someone had tried to sneak in &amp; assassinate Thoreien. When questioned, Thoreien explained that the force of his lightning spell had killed the assassin, hence why the guards weren't called. The assassin was examined &amp; it was found that his blade was the same as the one that was found behind the king's throne. It was given to Cormer to investigate.<p>

Meeting up in the library, the group had decided that they needed to look around the palace for further evidence. They split up with Baurest & Doria looking around the main hall, Maurmon & Zenia looking around the dungeons & Sonia & Thoreien taking the risky job of looking around the private chambers. Cormer would remain in the library with Dondas to look for answers about the blades.

As they split up, Baurest & Doria began to search around the main hall.

'Any ideas on what we're looking for?' Baurest asked.

'My guess would be anything that would seem out of place,' Doria said. 'Otherwise your guess is as good as mine,'

As they searched, nothing turned up in the main hall, so they began to search the throne room. Nothing seemed out of place, so they began to look in some of the chests, knowing that they could be caught, which was a risk they were more than willing to take. When nothing turned up, they met in the middle of the room.

'There appears to be nothing here,' Doria said. 'Maybe the others will have more luck?'

'Let's hope so,' Baurest said. 'I would like to sleep without my axe under my pillow for once,'

* * *

><p>Upstairs near the chambers, Sonia &amp; Thoreien had snuck into the private quarters. There was a small problem: While there were one or two guards on duty, the rooms were close by, with one guard guarding them. They knew that if he saw them, they would be in for a stretch in the dungeons, considering that most guards didn't like visitors near the palace inhabitant's rooms.<p>

'We need to get that guard away from the chambers,' Sonia whispered.

'Any ideas?' Thoreien asked.

'Just one,' Sonia said, drawing her bow. 'I can get him to move away, but we'll have to be quick,'

Sonia sent an arrow flying into a support beam across the corridor. Startled by the noise, the guard went running, sword in hand, to see what the noise was.

As his footsteps faded, Thoreien turned to Sonia.

'Which room first?' he asked.

'Let's try the bodyguard's,' Sonia suggested.

She picked the lock on the door & very carefully peeked inside. To her relief, there was no one inside.

'Come on,' she whispered to Thoreien.

As they crept into the bodyguard's quarters, they began to look around for any signs of treachery. Unfortunately, all they found were several pieces of armour, weapons & other keepsakes. There wasn't any indication otherwise

'There's nothing here,' Thoreien said. 'Let's go,'

'You're right,' Sonia said, pocketing some gold. 'We'll search the other rooms later,'

'What are you doing? Are you mad?' Thoreien said harshly. 'This is the king's bodyguard you're stealing from. If she finds out, she'll kill you,'

'Calm down,' Sonia said. 'It's only a few gold. She isn't going to notice. Besides,' she said approaching the door. 'Old habits die hard,'

* * *

><p>In the library, Cormer &amp; Dondas were searching for answers. As they looked around, they found a few books on Tamriel's history, but there wasn't any information regarding the daggers.<p>

'You'd think that there would be information on everything in these books,' Dondas said.

'Maybe these daggers were only forged recently,' Cormer suggested.

'And by recently you mean?'

'Around 300 years,'

As they searched through the last of the books, Cormer picked up on of the daggers to examine it.

'Why would someone forge a dagger like this,' Cormer asked.

'What do you mean?' Dondas asked.

'See how this gem glows when you touch it,' Cormer said, pointing to the gem on the hilt. 'Thoreien said that when the assassin was holding it, it was gleaming red along these lines here,' he pointed to the lines along the blade. 'It almost like it's feeding off the life force of the wielder. A burn mark was also found on the assassin's had from when he had been holding it,'

'That's a bit unsettling,'

'Whoever is making these wants the wielder to know that they are forever in their control. That can be a cause for disaster,'

'So what do we search for now?'

'If you can find any books on ancient magic, bring them here,' Cormer instructed. 'We have some research to do,'

* * *

><p>Meanwhile in the dungeons, Maurmon, Ronan &amp; Zenia were searching for anything that screamed 'assassin!' When they had originally gone inside, they needed to light a torch in order to see, due to the near total darkness of the place. Strangely, despite the danger of a prisoner escaping, there were no guards on duty.<p>

'Where are the guards?' Zenia asked.

'I have no idea,' Maurmon said. 'Stay close,'

As the trio made their way down, they couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be no prisoners in the dungeon. All the dungeons were facing the center, with the torture room in full view.

'Why would the torture room be in the center of the room?' Zenia asked.

'To teach prisoners a lesson,' Ronan said. 'When one escapes, if the capture him, they take him here & torture him endlessly. In full view of the other prisoners. Trust me, it's not a pleasant experience. For the prisoners that it,'

Ronan flashed her a cruel smile & Zenia felt shivers down her spine. Ronan must of seen this happen before.

As they searched the dungeon, there were no clues as to who was the informer. As they turned to leave, Ronan noticed something.

'Hey look at this,' Ronan said.

'What is it?' Zenia asked.

'There's a lever here,' Ronan said. 'Just in this barrel,'

'Try pulling it. Let's see what it does,' Maurmon said curiously.

Ronan pulled the lever, only to find that it was stuck. He tried again, with obvious difficulty.

'Looks like it's stuck,' Ronan said. 'We should leave,'

'I agree. Let's go,' Zenia said.


	25. Framed!

After returning from their search of the palace, they all seemed to turn up empty handed. Besides from the lever found in the dungeons, nothing was found in the palace, which frustrated them further.

There were now relaxing in the courtyard. After learning that Thoreien had killed the assassin via magic, Sonia had shown an interest in learning, despite her brother's protests. Baurest, Doria, Zenia & Maurmon were all relaxing under a tree, while Ronan was sleeping. Dondas was firing arrows at several targets. Cormer was studying again, while Thoreien was giving Sonia her first lessons on spell casting.

'So with spell casting,' Thoreien instructed. 'You want to focus on producing the spell, then keeping it alive. The best starting ones I can teach you are an easy healing spell & a weak fire spell. Let's start with the healing spell,'

Sonia readied herself. 'So do I just focus or-'

'Think about the spell you want to cast & focus on your hand,'

Sonia did so. At first, nothing happened. But then, a warm orange glow appeared in her hand.

'That's it! Keep going!' Thoreien encouraged.

Sonia concentrated harder & that glow became a ball of orange light.

'Excellent!' Thoreien said. 'Keep practicing that & soon you can learn more powerful spells. Trust me, magic is a good resource to use when you don't have any healing potions,' Thoreien said.

Sonia broke her concentration. 'So,' she began. 'When do we start on Destruction magic?'

'We can start now if you want,' Thoreien said.

'Great. Dondas, can you let us use the targets?'

'Sure,' the elf said, putting his bow away. 'Just don't burn it down,'

'Thanks,'

As Sonia practiced more spells, Zenia turned to Cormer.

'Any luck?' she asked.

'Nothing,' Cormer said, defeated. 'I've gone through every book that could possible have any information on these damn daggers, & I have nothing!'

'Maybe you should take a break,' Maurmon suggested. 'You've been searching for hours,'

'I suppose you're right,'

Thoreien turned back to Sonia. 'Destruction spells are harder to cast than healing spells, because they require more concentration. However, as you get better,' he said, reading a frost spell. 'It will become easier to master harder spells,' he released, sending an ice spike at the target.

This disturbed Ronan, causing him to sit upright. 'Hey!' He shouted. 'Watch the magic!'

'He wasn't aiming at you, moron,' Sonia said. 'He was aiming at the target,'

'I don't care!' Ronan argued.

Sonia ignored him, turning to Thoreien. 'What do I do?'

'Like with the healing spell, focus on your hand & think about the flames,' Sonia did so, repeating the process. A few wisps of smoke appeared.

'Okay, now the important thing to remember is that any fire, frost or shock spell you control can't harm you,' Thoreien said as Sonia's hand came alight.

'Whoa!' She said.

'Great! Aim at the target!'

Sonia faced the target & took aim.

'Now, release the spell. Tell it to 'go','

As Sonia fired her spell, it hit the target with a 'thump!' This once again disturbed Ronan.

'What are you doing?' He demanded.

'Learning how to cast spells. I'm being productive, unlike **someone** here,' Sonia said.

'Sleeping is productive!' Ronan argued.

'Not when you're snoring like that,' Baurest said under his breath, making Doria laugh.

'Hey!'

'You know Sonia,' Cormer began. 'If you want, I can teach you some more advanced spells at a later date,'

'Really? Thanks,' Sonia said. 'I'd like to-'

She was interrupted with the sound of shouting. The rest of the group stood up, not sure how to react. Suddenly, a few men guards appeared, shouting at them to take arms.

They did, only to have the guards be cut down in an instant. A few figures, in silver armour were behind them. They began attacking the group.

As they proceeded to fight off the intruders, no reinforcements arrived. 'Dondas!' Ronan shouted. Where are the guards?'

'I don't know!' He shouted back. 'They should be here by now! The guard's tower has full view of this place!'

While they outnumbered the intruders, they weren't fully armoured, so when the last one fell, the group was pretty badly beaten.

'I think that's the last of them,' Maurmon said.

'Let's hope so,' Doria agreed.

While the others put away their weapons or spells (Or both in Thoreien's case) Ronan & Sonia kept their weapons drawn.

'I don't think that was the last of them,' Ronan said.

'For some reason I agree with you,' Sonia said.

They heard more men approaching. As the two Nords prepared themselves, they saw that the soldiers were none other than the King, his bodyguard & the advisor himself.

'What's going on here?' Anthis demanded. 'Why are my men dead?'

'It's them sir!' Tervdos said. 'It looks like the two Nords killed them!'

'No!' Sonia denied. 'The intruders in silver armour did!'

'Galril, what do you think?' Anthis said.

'I'm not sure,' The Bosmer said. 'It seems Tervdos is right,'

'No! We're innocent we tell you!' Ronan shouted.

Anthis sighed. 'It seems I have no choice,' He said. 'Sonia & Ronan Oakblade, the two of you are now under arrest for the murder of several Falenesti guards. Seize them,'

As the guards went to seize them, the others shouted their innocence.

'They're innocent!' Doria pleaded.

'You can't do this!' Thoreien shouted.

'Silence!' Anthis shouted. 'Or I will have you all arrested!'

'Don't worry about us guys,' Sonia reassured. 'We'll be fine,'

While Sonia allowed the guards seize her, Ronan struggled against them.

'Argh! Get your hands OFF ME!' he shouted, turning into his werewolf form. The guards that were holding him down released him & he began to run away.

'Ronan, no!' Doria shouted.

'Don't do it you idiot! They'll kill you!' Sonia shouted.

Ronan began to run off through the courtyard, with several guards shouting behind him. He was cut down after a few minutes by archers who had poisoned their arrows with a paralysis potion. Due to the nature of the potion, he was quickly subdued & brought before the king, still in his werewolf form.

'You & your brother will stay in the dungeons until further notice,' He said to them. Sonia looked into his eyes, seeing the regret in them. 'Unless proof comes forward that you two are innocent, you will remain in the dungeons until the end of your days. Or until you are executed,'


	26. Stuck In The Dungeons

**A filler chapter. I'm also feeling nice, so here's an update. It's short, but I'll update on Sunday & that one will be longer.**

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><p><em>Here I am stuck in the number one place I swore I would never return to <em>Sonia thought to herself angrily.

Once Ronan had regained mobility & had changed from his werewolf form, both of them were searched. While Ronan was heavily guarded while he was searched, Sonia was interrogated about why she had the bodyguard's stolen money (She told them that she had never seen them before. They didn't believe her) & both were locked in their cell.

'Don't try & escape,' the guard warned them. 'There's a reason why we have a torture room in front of the cells,'

It took a while, but eventually the others were allowed to come down & see them. While they barely agreed on anything, both Galril & Tervdos agreed that there was a danger that one of them would slip the prisoners a key. It was then decided that they would have a guard accompany them & would only be given 10 minutes to visit them. When they came down, Sonia reassured them.

'Don't worry guys,' she said. 'This isn't the first time I've been falsely accused,'

'It certainly isn't the first time you've been put into jail either,' Ronan spat.

'Oh well I'm sorry your majesty,' Sonia said, annoyed. 'But I'm not the one who turned into a werewolf in order to escape,'

Ronan said nothing in return & growled.

'Besides. Now we know that the informer is somewhere in the palace for sure,' she said optimistically.

It had been 2 hours since their visit. The guard had brought them what appeared to be dinner, but Ronan said it was more like a meal he was served while he was fighting for the Stormcloaks.

'That's prison food for you,' Sonia said.

'Well, honestly right now I would rather be back in the army. At least they took care of their prisoners decently,'

Well after night had fallen, Sonia was still awake. She knew Ronan had fallen asleep, but she was still awake, wondering who allowed assasins into the palace.

She groaned & rolled over to the window that was in their cell, looking at the sky. She could only just one of the moons tonight. She sighed. She hoped that their innocence could be proved soon. Otherwise they could be stuck there forever. Or worse.


	27. Tresspassing & Tailing

**It's short, I know. There are a lot of cuts, switching from one place to another. They are also short.**

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><p>Breakfast the next morning was silent. Without Ronan &amp; Sonia, no one really felt like talking. While Anthis &amp; Galril weren't present, Tervdos seemed to be relishing the fact that two of Skyrim's most important figures were imprisoned. He seemed almost happy with himself, which made everyone suspicious.<p>

'Why would Tervdos be pleased that Ronan & Sonia are in jail?' Maurmon asked.

'I don't know. Maybe he doesn't trust Nords?' Thoreien suggested.

'But then I would be imprisoned,' Doria said.

'That's true,'

'Perhaps it's something personal? Sonia & Ronan are the children of Dane Oakblade. Maybe Dane's past actions had something to do with it?' Cormer suggested.

'There's two ways we can find out,' Dondas said. 'We can tail him, see where he goes, or we can search his room again,'

'Nothing turned up the first time you searched his room,' Zenia said.

'But, something could turn up now,' Baurest said. 'A lot can happen in 24 hours,'

'Then who's going where?' Doria asked.

'I will take Thoreien with me into Tervdos' quarters,' Dondas said. 'I suggest that if any of you can remain undetected for a long period, you should be the ones to tail Tervdos,'

* * *

><p>Dondas &amp; Thoreien snuck into the advisor's quarters carefully. They knew that there were more guards on duty now, so security was tighter than before. They managed to get passed as the guard left the doorway for a few minutes. As Dondas closed the door, they began searching the room.<p>

'What are we looking for?' Thoreien asked.

'Look for anything connecting to the attack. That way we will either have our informer or find him. There has to be something here,'

* * *

><p>As Tervdos entered the market square, three figures watched from a distance. As the elf made his way around the square, one of them kept watch while the other two tried to look natural.<p>

'He's moving again,' Doria said. 'Come on,'

Cormer & Zenia followed her, taking extreme care not to stand out too much (Which was already hard to do because they were all foreigners).

As Tervdos exited the market, they followed, confused. He should have returned to the palace by now. What business did he have beyond the markets? The doubted that he was a hunter.

* * *

><p>'Anything in that chest?' Dondas asked.<p>

'Nothing. What about that cupboard?'

'Nothing as well,'

After searching most of the room, nothing had turned up. They were beginning to get desperate.

'Let's try the desk. There might be something there,' Thoreien suggested.

* * *

><p>As Tervdos walked away from the main part of the city, Cormer, Doria &amp; Zenia tailed him relentlessly. Tervdos approached stopped suddenly, &amp; began to talk.<p>

'What's he doing?' Zenia asked.

'He's talking to someone,' Cormer said. 'Look in the shadows,'

Looking in the shadows, there was in fact, a figure there. However, they could only see the outline of the figure, but not the figure himself.

* * *

><p>'Let's see,' Dondas said. 'Letters, bills, shopping list…'<p>

'Anything there?'

'Just this,' Dondas said. 'It has some sort of seal on it,'

'Let's see what it is,' Thoreien said, looking at the letter.

As he looked at the seal, his eyes widened. 'Oh no...' he whispered, shocked.

'What is it?' Dondas said, confused.

'This is the symbol from the assassins that tried to kill Ronan,' Thoreien said, horrified. 'He's one of them,'

* * *

><p>'So,' the figure said. 'Are they imprisoned?'<p>

'Yes,' Tervdos said. 'Those damn travelers are getting suspicious. What do you suppose I do?'

'Watch & wait,' the figure said. 'The Highthorn can afford it, considering the current situation. I will report back to our officials. We will send a message down when we need to,'

As Tervdos walked away, the figure called out.

'Attack the spies,'

Cormer, Doria & Zenia immediately drew their weapons, only to have darts hit their necks.

As he lost consciousness, the last thing Cormer remembered was the advisor standing over him, laughing cruelly.


	28. Breakout

**This chapter might be a bit rough. I'm sorry about this. I feel sick & I'm tired.**

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><p><em>What is taking them so long? <em>Maurmon thought to himself. _It doesn't take this long to tail someone & return._

It had been several hours since Cormer, Doria & Zenia had left. During that time, Dondas & Thoreien had returned with their evidence. After looking at the letter, they were pretty certain that Tervdos was not the man he said he was.

'All we can do is wait for the others to get back,' Dondas said. 'If they see something that proves Tervdos is the informer, than they have to be careful,'

As the hours crept by, they found themselves growing more anxious. Why hadn't they returned yet? Had something happened?

After 3 anxious hours of waiting, they were approached by a guard.

'I will have to escort you all to your chambers,' He said.

'Why?' Baurest asked. 'Is something wrong?'

'I don't know. All I have my orders,'

As they were escorted to their chambers, they couldn't help but wonder: Where were they?

* * *

><p>Cormer groaned as he woke up. As his vision focused, he saw that he was tied up to what appeared to be a torture rack. As he struggled in the bonds, he heard someone laugh:<p>

'So, you've finally woken up from your nap,'

Cormer turned to face the individual, which was none other than Tervdos himself. He was standing there with the blades that Cormer had on him, & there was a large, menacing Orc behind him.

'Where am I? Where are Doria & Zenia? What have you done with them?' He demanded. Despite his intimidating demeanour, he felt weak & helpless.

'Relax,' Tervdos said. 'Your companions are fine. Their just in the same situation you're in. Tied up. In their casual wear. Except, they're being tortured as we speak,'

Cormer's eyes widened in horror. He could only just faintly hear the sound of the two of them screaming.

'LET THEM GO YOU MONSTER!' he shouted.

Tervdos laughed. 'I would. But I can't take that risk,' Tervdos turned to leave. 'By the way, scream all you want. We are well beneath the dungeons. I doubt your companions in their cells can hear you,' He turned to the Orc. 'Make sure he suffers. Slowly,'

* * *

><p>Sonia lifted her head as the figures approached the cell door. Even in the darkness, she could still make out the silhouettes of her companions. She stood up, almost falling over due to the lack of strength. She approached the door, leaning on it.<p>

'Hey,' she said weakly.

'How's Ronan?' Thoreien asked, voice full of concern.

'He's been better,' Sonia said with a laugh. 'Take that worried look off your face Baurest. Ronan looks worse than I do,'

'That's because I didn't spend half my life in a bloody cell,' Ronan said darkly, looking up from his place against the wall. He looked sick, & it looked like his strength was beginning to fail him.

Just as Sonia was about to speak, Dondas cut them off:

'I know both of you are tired & weak, but now's not the time. We have bigger problems,'

'What do you mean?' Ronan said, standing up. He almost fell over, but Sonia managed to hoist him onto her shoulder.

'We sent Cormer, Doria & Zenia to tail Tervdos. They haven't returned,' Maurmon said.

'Not to mention we found this in his chambers,' Thoreien said, handing Sonia the note.

As she read it, he expression remained the same. When Ronan read it, he seemed surprised.

'So he's the informant,' Ronan said.

'We're not certain,' Dondas said. 'We were hoping that you might of seen or heard something earlier?'

'I haven't,' Ronan said.

'That's because you spend half the time asleep. Not to mention with your snoring I can't even hear myself think,' Sonia said.

'Well excuse me!,' Ronan said, offended.

'But I did see something,' Sonia said. 'I saw Tervdos coming out of a passage about an hour ago. If we could get out of this cell, I could show you,'

'I knew you'd say that,' Dondas said. He then produced a key & unlocked the door. 'Your armour is in that chest over there,' He said, pointing at the chest.

'Where did you get the key?' Sonia asked, putting her cuirass on.

'You're not the only one who knows how to successfully pickpocket guards,' Dondas said.

'He seems to be better at it too,' Thoreien said with a laugh.

'Quiet you,' Sonia threatened. 'Ready?'

'I am now,' Ronan said.

'Follow me,'

* * *

><p>Sonia led them down the path (Which had been concealed in one of the dungeons). As they snuck down the path, Sonia, who was leading, had her bow drawn. 'Who knows what's down here,' she told them earlier.<p>

As they descended, there were several iron doors, no doubt to keep any sound made from escaping. This was true, because it wasn't long before they heard Cormer screaming in agony.

As they came to the room where his screams were the loudest, Sonia peeked around the corner. She looked back & said:

'He's here. I'm taking the torturer out,'

As she finished, she drew her bow & fired. As they heard the torturer shout in pain, Sonia sent another arrow into him, taking him down.

They ran into the room, to find the torturer dead & Cormer on a rack, bleeding & defeated. As they set him down, Dondas gave him some water to drink.

'How did you find me?' Cormer asked.

'I saw Tervdos walking out of the passage,' Sonia explained. 'Where are the others?'

'Follow the path. It will lead you to the other room,' Cormer said.

Sonia turned to Baurest & Maurmon. 'We'll stay here & take care of Cormer. You three go after the Doria & Zenia,'

'With pleasure,' Maurmon growled.

As the torturer tightened the grip on both of the girl's racks, he heard three sets of footsteps rapidly approaching. Looking up, he saw that two figures were in the room, charging at him. He drew his sword & lunged, only to have one of them stab him through the chest. The other was busy untying his captives.

'You okay?' Maurmon asked Zenia.

'Yeah,' she said, tiredly. 'Thank you,'

'Thank you,' Doria said as she was released.

'No problem,' Baurest replied.


	29. The Traitor Revealed

**Short? Yes. I almost forgot to update (But I didn't).**

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><p>Tervdos sat in his chair in the room. He let out a content sigh. <em>Finally! <em>He thought. _With all of the threats taken care of, all I have to do is wait for the shipment to arrive. Everything is going to plan. _

He sat there smiling to himself, not giving a damn about the merchant that had come in to complain about the current state of the vendors. Anthis resolved the situation by telling the merchant that the vendors will be repaired by the end of the week & he will send someone down to fix them as soon as he could.

As the merchant left, Anthis turned to Galril.

'Make sure no one tries to steal from the vendors while they are being tended to. Tell the captain to have extra guards on duty,' He told her.

'Yes sir,' she replied. 'What are you smirking at, Tervdos?'

'Oh, nothing,' Tervdos said. 'I'm just in a good mood,'

'About what?' Galril asked suspiciously.

'None of your business,' the dark elf replied rudely.

His good mood soon shattered as he heard footsteps rapidly approaching. Those footsteps belonged to none other than the very people he thought he had locked up.

'Guards!' Tervdos shouted. 'The prisoners are escaping! To me, now!'

The guards soon surrounded them, & in response, the group drew their weapons.

'Lay down your weapons & no one will be killed,' Galril said, drawing her sword.

'Listen to us!' Sonia said. 'There's something we need to tell you,'

'Don't listen to them sire,' Tervdos said to Anthis. They want to-'

'Tervdos,' Anthis said. 'Let them speak,'

Tervdos glared at Sonia angrily.

'We know who the traitor is,' Sonia said calmly, hoping her voice didn't betray her.

'Who is it?' Galril demanded. 'Speak, or I will have you all killed,'

'The man sitting to the right of you. Tervdos of Mournhold,' Ronan said.

'Where is your proof, boy?' Tervdos challenged. 'I demand to see it!'

'Here,' Sonia said. 'Not to mention my companions,' she gestured towards Cormer, Zenia & Doria. They stepped forward while Thoreien handed the note to Anthis.

'Tell them what happened,' Sonia said to her companions.

While Anthis looked over the note, he listened to what Sonia's companions had to say. As they said more & more, Tervdos began eying the exits to the palace, in case things got ugly.

As they finished their explanation, Anthis looked like he had seen a ghost. He turned to face Tervdos.

'Please tell me this isn't true,' He pleaded.

'Because if it is, you'll be getting more than a prison sentence,' Galril said, drawing her weapon.

'Trust me sir, why would I want to turn against my king? My people? My kingdom?' Tervdos reasoned.

'Sir,' Sonia said. 'You look like you know more than we do about the Highthorn. I assume you know the danger they possess,'

'That doesn't mean I'm one of them! You have circumstantial evidence!'

Sonia sighed angrily.

'What about the blades?'

All three of them turned to Thoreien.

'What?' Tervdos said.

'Cormer told me that the Highthorn have a special blade that all members possess. If he has it on him, then he's obviously a member,'

Anthis thought it over. 'Tervdos,' He said. 'Show me your blade,'

Tervdos drew his sword with a smug look on his face.

'Now your dagger,'

Tervdos' face fell as he drew his dagger. Anthis looked at it & showed to the group.

'That's the dagger,' Cormer said.

Anthis nodded. 'Guards! Step away from them!'

The guards backed away from the group, prompting them to sheathe their weapons.

'Tervdos,' Anthis said. 'You are now hereby stripped of your status of Advisor. You are now under arrest,'

'NO!' Tervdos said, standing up. 'You'll never take me!' He ran out of the palace, several guards chasing him.

'We have to go after him! If he escapes, he might plan an assassination!' Baurest said.

'I'll go!' Sonia shouted. 'Thoreien, Dondas. Follow me!'


	30. Battle In The Trees

**An early update because I'm nice. It might be a bit choppy though.**

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><p>As Tervdos attempted to make his escape, he climbed the trees that sheltered the city. Even though he wasn't a Wood elf, he was able to swiftly climb the trees due to the massive amount of vines that had accumulated over the years. This was made easier by the fact that most of the branches in the trees were so large, they could be used as walkways. Dondas was hot on his tail, following him while Sonia &amp; Thoreien stayed on the ground with the guards.<p>

'How do we get him down?' Thoreien shouted.

Sonia sent an arrow in Tervdos' direction. 'Just fire off a spell or two! See if you can hit him!'

Thoreien nodded & sent an ice spike into the air. It narrowly missed him, but it did make him stumble.

Meanwhile, some of the guards were trying to follow Tervdos. However, because their armour was heavier than Dondas', they couldn't keep up, & resorted to firing arrows at the traitor from the ground while chasing him.

In the trees, as Tervdos made his getaway, dodging spells & arrows. He knew that he was being chased & he was running out of options, so he drew his sword & turned to face Dondas. In response, Dondas drew his dagger, knowing that this wouldn't be a fair fight.

'This seems a bit outmatched for you,' Tervdos said. 'I have a sword & you have a dagger,'

'That doesn't mean that I can't kick your ass,' Dondas said.

'We'll see,' Tervdos said darkly.

As the fight commenced, Sonia gave orders on the ground.

'Stop firing arrows!' She shouted. 'Let Dondas take care of him!'

The guards reluctantly listened, a few of them muttering that she wasn't the captain of the guard. But they all stopped firing regardless.

While Tervdos had the upper hand of having a sword, Dondas was able to use his small stature to his advantage. Tervdos would swing his sword, Dondas would duck away & hit him with the hilt of his dagger, causing the Dunmer to cry out in pain & shock.

After a while, Dondas managed to catch Tervdos off guard, with Dondas managing to cut Tervdos across the stomach, hoping the wound wasn't too deep. As Tervdos dropped his sword, Dondas wasted no time picking it up & holding it against him.

'You fool!' Tervdos said, laughing. 'Did you really think that blow would kill me?'

'I actually hoped that it wouldn't,' Dondas said. 'I might want you dead, but I'm sure the king would prefer you alive,'

'Ha!' Tervdos said, spitting blood. 'Either way, I won't be of any use to you. I'm not saying a thing,'

An arrow whizzed past his head, startling him.

'Gah!' he yelled.

'I suggest you come quietly,' Sonia said, knocking another arrow. 'That arrow only just missed your head. I won't hesitate to put one through it,'

Tervdos looked defeated.

'Now,' Dondas said, lowering the sword just a bit. 'How about we get you to a healer?'

'But then what happens?' Tervdos challenged. 'You put me in a dungeon to rot?'

'That's not my decision,' Dondas said. 'That's the king's,'

Dondas put the former advisor's sword down. 'I can't guarantee you'll survive, but if you do, you had better tell us what we want,' Dondas said, hitting Tervdos on the head, hard. Tervdos blacked out as the guards approached the former advisor.


	31. To The Desert

**Ugh, short I know.**

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><p>Once Tervdos was healed, he was imprisoned in the dungeons. Anthis knew that Tervdos would never tell them what they wanted to know, so he made sure he could never escape by ordering the blacksmith to permanently seal the door. He didn't want to do it, but he didn't have a choice.<p>

After the ordeal, Anthis approached Dondas.

'On behalf of the people of Falenesti & the province of Valenwood, I would like to commemorate you on your actions. I am offering you the title of Royal Advisor. Do you accept?' Anthis asked.

Dondas smiled. 'I would gladly accept,' Dondas said, shaking Anthis' hand. 'As long as I don't have to wear fine robes,'

'It's a deal!' Anthis said with a laugh.

Once everything had calmed down, Dondas approached the group, who were enjoying a meal outside the palace walls.

'How's your new position going?' Cormer asked.

'Well, it certainly is different,' Dondas said. 'Where are you off to now?'

'Our next destination is Sentinel, Hammerfell,' Sonia said. 'We have business there,'

'Cormer, Baurest & Maurmon were just telling us what its like,' Thoreien said.

'Well, I wish you good luck,' Dondas said. 'I've heard that a lot has changed in these past few years,'

'Which is why it's so important that we get there soon,' Maurmon said.

There was a short silence. Then Dondas spoke: 'I will send a courier to the Chancellor explaining what happened. That way he'll know what's happened. He'll be glad to know that everything's alright here,'

'Really? Thanks,' Sonia said gratefully.

'No problem,'

* * *

><p>After a few days, they made their way through the forest back to the trader's camp. It was easier, because Dondas had agreed to escort them. When they got there, he told them that a trading ship to Hammerfell should arrive within the week. He then bid them farewell.<p>

True to his word, a trading ship called 'Bastion' came within a day or two, so they were able to depart quickly. Due to being a trading ship, conditions were drastically better than on the Otus & almost the same as The Heron.

As the ship left Valenwood, Sonia stood on deck. She heard someone approaching, so she turned around to see Ronan behind her.

'What are you thinking about?' He asked.

'I don't know, honestly,' Sonia replied.

'So why are you out here?'

Sonia sighed. 'I've been thinking about this whole…..Highthorn thing,'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean I really don't think we have a clue what we are up against,' Sonia said. 'Think about it: They wouldn't send in someone to just gain control of the province. I personally think they were trying to gain control of Tamriel,'

'Then why start in Valenwood & not the Imperial City?'

'They already have. They killed the emperor. With the Chancellor in charge, it's only a matter of time before things boil over,'

They were silent for a few moments. Then Ronan spoke:

'What do we do?'

'I don't know. Just wait & see,'

'Just like Pa used to say,'

'Yeah,' Sonia said smiling.


	32. Part III: Sentinel

**The internet was down at dad's. Sorry about that.**

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><p>As the Bastion pulled into the port of Sentinel, everyone quickly realised where they were &amp; what the weather was going to be like.<p>

As they stepped off, they were hit by a wave of heat, which took most of the group by surprise.

'Why is it so damn hot?' Ronan asked.

'Gee I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with us being in the middle of a desert,' Sonia said.

As they got off the ship, the Redguards of the group turned to the rest of them.

'We know an inn were we can stay,' Maurmon said. 'You can rest there until you are ready to go to the palace,'

'Are you sure they'll let us in?' Thoreien asked.

'I know for a fact that they'll let us in,' Cormer said. 'As long as you make it past the guards,'

'What are the king & queen's names?' Zenia asked.

'King Turke & Queen Senlone,' Cormer replied.

As they settled down for the night, the local Redguards noticed that Thoreien was carrying a lute. Some of them approached him, asking him to perform a song.

'You'll have to ask my employer,' Thoreien said.

'No need,' Sonia said. 'Go right ahead,'

Thoreien got up & took his lute out. After strumming a few notes, he asked what he should play.

'How about you play something we don't know!' One of them responded.

Thoreien turned to the group. 'Any ideas?'

'The Dragonborn Comes,' Zenia suggested.

'Ragnar the Red,' Sonia suggested.

'The Age of Opression,' Ronan suggested.

'Ronan!' Doria said, shocked.

'What? Once a Stormcloak, always a Stormcloak,'

Thoreien sighed. 'Any other ideas?'

'How about the Tale of the Tongues?' Zenia said.

'Are you sure that's a good idea? I need to keep a low profile,'

'As long as you don't do something out of the ordinary, you should be fine,'vBaurest said.

'Tale of the Tongues it is,' Thoreien confirmed.

Thoreien then stood in the middle of the room. 'This song is called Tale of the Tongues,' He said. He then proceeded to play:

_'Alduin's wings, they darken the sky._

_His roar fury's fire, and his scales sharpened scythes._

_Men ran and they cowered, and they fought and they died._

_They burned and they bled, as they issued their cries,'_

'This is a violent song,' Zenia whispered to Maurmon.

'Nords have a way of writing that might be a bit violent to others. This song is a tribute to one of the greatest battles in history. I'm not surprised that its violent,' Maurmon said.

As Thoreien continued to play, Zenia spoke again:

'He's a good singer,' she commented.

'Yes,' Maurmon agreed. 'He's good with the lute too, which I've heard is something that is not an easy instrument to master. Then you have to remember how to play the instrument while trying to remember the lyrics of the song,'

'Have you tried it?'

'No & I don't intend to,' Maurmon said with a laugh. 'I've always preferred something more practical, such as mastering swordsmanship or martial arts,'

As Thoreien continued, there were many looks of approval towards him. A lot of the Redguards hadn't heard the song before, so it was new to them. They were skeptical about a Nord song being sung in a Hammerfell inn, but now they had listened to the song, being sung by a Breton, they had changed their minds.

_'For his story is over and the dragons are... gone,'_

There was a round of applause, with a a few septims being tossed in Thoreien's direction.

'Thank you! Thank you,' Thoreien thanked.

Thoreien sat back down, beaming.

'Well, looks like I made the right descision in hiring you,' Sonia said.

'I told you I could play,'

'I know,'


	33. Foreign Affairs

**An early update because I'm in celebration mode.**

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><p>After a night in the inn, they made their way to the royal palace. It was a slow start, as the nights were surprisingly cool, but the day quickly warmed up, making it so hot, they couldn't wear their armour &amp; had to were their casual clothes. Eventually, they arrived in the grand palace, with guards meeting them as they went to enter.<p>

'What is your business here?' One of them asked.

'We have orders from the Chancellor,' Doria explained. 'We need to see the king & queen,'

The guard stepped aside. 'Of course,' He said. 'Right this way,'

The guards led them inside. The palace, as Baurest, Maurmon & Cormer had mentioned, was well designed, taking advantage of the intense heat to ensure the building was cool in the day & warm in the night.

As they made their way to the throne room, they caught sight of the king & queen. The both sat in thrones, which appeared to be made of several fine metals. King Turke was wearing fine robes, but not the same ones that Anthis Lichenrun wore. These were light, obviously to help against the blistering heat. They consisted of loose pants with a sash across his shoulder, revealing part of his torso, which had war paint on it. He had short hair, with a small beard. He also wore blue war paint, depicting traditional markings on his face & body. Queen Senlone sat next to him, wearing robes similar to the king, but not the same. She has long hair, which was tied back into a simple braid. She didn't wear any war paint like her husband, but she did have small rings of gold in her hair, a sign of her royal status.

As they approached the thrones, the king raised his head in recognition & spoke:

'I welcome you to the palace,' he said. 'What is your business here?'

Baurest, Cormer & Maurmon stepped forward & knelt down on one knee, lowering their heads. 'My lord & lady,' Baurest said. 'We are the messengers from the Imperial palace,'

'What about your companions?' Senlone asked.

'We were sent with them,' Sonia said, copying the Redguard's movements. 'I am Sonia Oakblade,'

'The Dragonborn,' King Turke said. 'Follow us. All of you,'

They were lead to the war room. As Turke lead them into the room, he called for the guards to reposition themselves in front of the room.

'Why is the security so tight?' Zenia asked.

'Because of our current situation,' Turke said. They were gathered around a table that had the entire province of Hammerfell laid out on it. There were several markers in place, though some of them were in the wrong places. 'As you all are aware, the sky has darkened significantly over the years over Hammerfell. You couldn't see it from the port, but if you look out onto the desert, you will see it,'

'Do you have any idea what is causing it?' Maurmon asked.

'We have our suspicions,' Senlone said. 'Do any of you know who the Highthorn are?'

'We have too much experience with the, I'm afraid,' Ronan said.

'Good,' Turke said. 'Towards the mountain range,' Turke pointed out on the map. 'There is an ancient ruin,' he pointed to one of the markers.

'Why is it so important?' Cormer asked.

'That ruin is the resting place of great evil,' Turke said. 'If it is active again, Tamriel is in grave danger,'


	34. Spellcasting In The Markets

**This chapter focuses on Thoreien & Sonia mainly. I'm doing a double update today in celebration of me finishing all my assessments.**

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><p>They were given until the end of the week to prepare. Most days were spent stocking up on supplies, but on the second last day, they decided to spend the day in the city.<p>

Thoreien & Sonia were in the market square, wandering around. The markets were an interesting place, different from Skyrim as Sonia had told Thoreien. Thoreien had told her that it was also different from High Rock. There were several of them around the city, selling anything from useless trinkets to weapons & armour.

Making their way through the market, they encountered a man claiming to be the best destruction spell caster in the provinces. The Imperial had already shown to be able to throw a few fireballs at the targets, but Thoreien laughed it off.

'A few fireballs might please the crowd,' he said. 'But it's a firestorm mixed with ice & lightning that wins,'

'Go on then,' Sonia encouraged. 'Go show him up,'

Thoreien stepped up onto the platform the man was standing on. 'So, you think a few fireballs are good enough in a fight?'

'What do you mean?' the Imperial asked.

'A few fireballs might be a good distraction,' the Breton began, reading a fire spell. 'But unless you can create & keep a fire spell flowing,' He continued, shooting the flames at the target. 'You may as well give up,' He finished the spell, leaving a pile of smoking ashes where the target once stood.

The Imperial looked stunned. There were a few murmurs from the crowd. Thoreien turned to him. 'I have an idea,' Thoreien said. 'The man who destroys the most targets wins. If I win, you will go learn some better spells & give me all the money you've made pleasing the crowd with your weak spells,'

'And what if I win?' the Imperial asked.

'I will pay you 1000 septims & give you my lute,' Thoreien said. 'If you can't play it, you can sell it,'

The Imperial thought it over. 'Deal,' he said with a smug expression on his face.

They both took their positions. 'On the count of three,' the Imperial said. 'One. Two. Three!'

It was over in a few seconds. The Imperial only managed to destroy one target by the time Thoreien had destroyed all of the rest. They now lay in smouldering ruins, with Thoreien smirking at the defeated Imperial.

The crowd roared as the Imperial stood there in humiliation. The crowd began to disperse, leaving only Sonia there, laughing.

'You are a fool, Thoreien,' she said, calming down. 'Thank the gods that you are as good as you say you are,'

'Yes it is,' he said, turning to the Imperial, who was getting the money he had just lost. 'It's a good thing that I won. I really like my lute,'

'Here,' the Imperial said darkly. 'Here's all the money,'

'Good. Now go the Mages Guild or the College of Winterhold & learn some real magic,' Thoreien said. 'Otherwise you'll be the one going up in flames, not the targets,'


	35. The Half A Book Of Information

**This chapter focuses on Cormer only, so it's more of a filler chapter, & it's not very long.**

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><p>Cormer sat in the palace library reading. He had decided to spend the last day in the library. There was something he needed to know.<p>

He knew that since he had identified the dagger in Falenesti, things would be different. He knew that the Highthorn were an ancient threat, being around for hundreds of years. What he didn't know, is why they were active after so many years. That was why he was in the library, trying to find some answers.

He looked through the book again, trying to find something that would give him an answer. He sighed, put the book down & picked up another.

_After The Crisis _it said on the cover. This was the only book he hadn't read on the time period just after the Oblivion Crisis. He picked up the book & began to read.

_After the Oblivon Crisis, many believe that Acari Greycloak, also known as the Champion of Cyrodiil, settled down somewhere in the West Weald. This is not the case. Her father, Lord Tulino Colld, tenant to Warcton Manor a few kilometres from Skingrad, had disowned her a few years before his death, & had refused to leave the house in her name. As a result, the hero took the name Greycloak in order to distance herself from her father even further._

_Tell me something I don't know _Cormer thought sarcastically as he continued to read. _Everybody knows that_.

_The truth is, Acari was sent to the Bruma dungeons when she was caught in the local Mages Guild, after stealing several gems & scrolls. At the same time, a group of wanderers, two Nords & an Imperial were looking for her. After getting her out of prison, she accompanied them on their journey. _

_To find treasure & travel the world _Cormer thought. _Something only a few people know._

_Eventually, after around 2 years of travelling, they had found their way to a cavern on the far west side of Hammerfell, along the mountain line__.__ As they explored it, they found a sword deep in the cavern. But this was no ordinary sword. This was the sword of Vor-_

To Cormer's shock, someone had ripped the page out of the book. In fact, half the book was missing. Someone mustn't of wanted something to be discovered about the travelers.

_This doesn't look good _Cormer thought. _We are headed for the same cavern. We could be in a whole heap of trouble._


	36. The Great Desert

**Just a filler chapter here, so it's short. I'll have a longer one next time. **

**Also, including the epilogue, 11 chapters to go! We are beginning to near the end!**

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><p>They left in the early morning. They made progress throughout the first morning, stopping in the middle of the day when it got too hot &amp; starting up again as it began to cool down towards the end of the day.<p>

Movement was slow at night. The temperature may have been hot during the day, but it plummeted during the night. They trudged on regardless. It was better to travel at night than in the day, otherwise they would die in the intense heat.

After two days, they could no longer see Sentinel. The massive dunes & ever stretching landscape quickly erased all trace of the city & the heat quickly drew their attention away from anything else. The endless landscape stretched around them, they slowly made their way towards the mountain line, hoping that the promised cave would be there. Otherwise they would die.

After 3 days, the Nords of the party had almost had it with the heat. Zenia was coping, with Thoreien feeling rather neutral about the heat. Towards the end, Ronan was complaining, while Doria had all but passed out. Sonia had her head in her hands, groaning due to a mild headache.

'Maybe we should rest tonight,' Maurmon suggested.

'Yes! Please!' Ronan pleaded. 'I can't stand the heat anymore!'

'I'll agree with that,' Doria said.

'I don't care what you do,' Sonia moaned. 'Just take the pain away,'

Luckily, they were able to sleep that night once Sonia's headache had died down. They lit a small fire to keep themselves warm, then slept a few hours before breaking camp the next day, Knowing that the journey wasn't over yet.


	37. Attacked In The Rock Valley

**10 chapters remaining! I'll be update frequently now.**

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><p>Several days had passed. They had made progress, but that was hard as the terrain had begun to lose its desert feel. Instead of long, rolling sand dunes, they had reached more mountainous land, meaning that there wear more large rock formations scattered around the landscape as they neared the mountain line.<p>

They were travelling through a rock valley. There were rocks that were formed high over their heads & the formations cast shadows across the path. It was considerably cooler as a result, but not by much as the sun still beat down on them from above.

There was an unsettling feeling about the place. They felt like they were being watched as they made their way through.

'Let's move through as quickly as possible,' Baurest said. 'The sooner we're out of here, the better,'

As the day trudged on, the feeling became worse. Every sound seemed to be loud & alerted them to something being there, following them.

At about midday, they made camp in the valley, despite the cool air around them.

'We'll eat lunch, then we'll keep moving,' Maurmon said.

'Are you sure that's a good idea?' Thoreien asked. 'I think we're being followed,'

'I have to agree there,' Ronan said. 'But I don't think we're being followed,'

'But you just said-' Thoreien began.

'We ARE being followed,' Ronan said, cutting him off.

'By who?' Zenia asked.

'I don't know,' the Harbinger responded.

'Well they aren't bandits,' Sonia said, looking around.

'Then what are they?' Cormer asked.

'My guess is it's the Highthorn,' Sonia said.

They ate lunch in silence. Afterwards they began to leave when there was a rather crash.

'What was that?' Doria asked, startled.

'I don't know,' Thoreien said softly. 'But I think we're about to find out,'

Then all hell broke loose.

First, an arrow barely missed Cormer's face. Then there was a battle cry.

In seconds, they were surrounded, with Highthorn soldiers in all directions, weapons drawn.

The travellers had drawn their weapons too, but they were severely outmatched.

The soldiers didn't even bother trying to talk to them. All at the same time, they advanced, sending the world into chaos.

With soldiers coming from all directions, it was only a matter of time before Ronan, Maurmon & Baurest decided to change to werewolf form in an attempt to better the odds. This was partially effective, but resulted in them drawing more attention to themselves. By the end, all three of them were covered in cuts, with arrows sticking out of their shoulders.

It wasn't only soldiers & archers: there were also several mages on site, which resulted in Cormer & Thoreien engaging in a bloody battle with magic, ending in both Cormer & Thoreien surviving, but they were covered in burns.

Meanwhile Doria, Sonia & Zenia had all taken down the remaining soldiers. This was no easy task, but they survived, despite the cuts & occasional arrow wound.

After the battle, they regrouped a good 100 metres from the scene. At the sight of each other injured but alive, they all began to relax.

There was no way they could continue. They made camp & began to focus on healing themselves.

They all knew that things wouldn't be easy from now on.


	38. The Oasis

**9 chapters remaining! Be sure to stick around!**

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><p>Exhausted from healing &amp; the fight, they made a meal, but no one really enjoyed it as they were all on edge due to the attack. Nobody slept, which would be a major problem for the morning.<p>

As the dawn broke they continued their journey across the desert, still aching & slightly bleeding from the fight the day before. Progress was slow, but they were out of the rock valley & back into the desert, the sun beating down on them once more.

As they broke camp in the middle of the day, they quickly discovered a problem: they were running out of water, which was a massive problem, considering they were in the middle of the desert.

'How...much water...do we...have left?' Ronan croaked, panting.

'Not much,' Cormer said sadly.

'We're going to die out here!' Sonia shouted. 'We need a miracle,'

'I can't think of any sources of water that could be nearby,' Baurest said, defeated.

'May Akatosh have mercy on us,' Thoreien whispered.

They trudged on, despite the overwhelming thirst. About half an hour passed, when Zenia spoke up:

'What's that in the distance?'

Maurmon turned around & smiled softly at her. 'It's nothing. It's just a mirage,' he explained.

'No it's not,' Zenia denied. 'Look,'

She pointed at something in the distance. On first glance, it seemed like nothing, but when you looked harder...

'What is that?' Doria asked.

Everyone was silent for a few minutes. Then Cormer broke into a run.

'Cormer! What are you doing? Are you mad?' Sonia demanded.

'Follow me! I know what it is!' Cormer shouted.

They all looked at each other, then bounded after their friend.

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><p>It turns out, that thing in the distance was no mirage.<p>

In fact, it was just what they needed.

An Oasis.

Approaching the Oasis, they discovered that there was a small pool of cold water, kept cool by a few trees.

It may not have seen like much, but it was paradise at the moment.

'Well, turns out you were right,' Maurmon said to Zenia.

'Yes,' she breathed.

The remainder of the day was spent refilling their flasks with the cool water & relaxing in the cool shadow of the trees. They made the decision to rest for the night, then continue moving the next day.

Night fell & a fire was lit. They relaxed by the fire, enjoying the feeling of not being thirsty.

'So we move on tomorrow,' Ronan confirmed.

Maurmon nodded. 'We should be there by tomorrow afternoon,'

'And then what?' Doria asked.

'I don't know,' the man replied.

'I reckon we stick together when we get to that...cave,' Thoreien suggested.

'I agree,' Baurest said. 'There have been too many tales of people getting lost in caves in the desert,'

'Not to mention we don't know what's down there,' Sonia said.

'What happens if we do get separated?' Zenia asked.

'Let's worry about that later,' Maurmon said. 'Hopefully we wont have to,'


	39. Hidden Ruins

**8 chapters remaining & the climax is coming! Stay tuned & hopefully I'll be done by the end of the holidays!**

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><p>After relaxing in the oasis, they were on the move again. They made great progress throughout the night, reaching another rock bed before the next sunrise.<p>

This rock bed was different. As they entered, it seemed that there were no living creatures anywhere near it. It also became progressively colder, despite being the middle of the day. Eventually, they were forced to put on their cloaks that they hadn't used since they were in Skyrim. Even the Nords were cold, which was concerning.

'Why is it so cold?' Zenia asked.

'I don't know,' Cormer responded.

As they progressed, they began shivering like it was the middle of winter. It looked like it too, as the sky had ground dark & the ground had frozen over.

'What is going on?' Baurest wondered aloud.

'I-I think we're getting close to our destination,' Thoreien suggested.

'I'm afraid you're right,' Doria said.

They soon discovered the source of the cold. They had emerged from the rock bed to reveal the beginning of the mountain line. They reached some sort of half-cave, half-ruin. The ruins appeared to be of a castle of some sort, with towers extending from certain points of the mountains. The cave seemed to be the entrance, with icicles hanging from the entrance & spikes coming up from the ground. Impaled on one of these spikes, was a Hammerfell guard's helmet, that appeared to be from over 200 years ago.

'Is this the place?' Zenia asked.

Sonia pulled out the map. After looking back & forth at the ruins & the map, she nodded. 'This is the place,' she confirmed.

'Do we go in?' Doria asked.

'I guess so,' Ronan said. 'But watch your step: Talos knows what's in there,'

They entered the cave, unaware that from the top of one of the towers, they were being watched by piercing red eyes.

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><p>On the inside, the ruins were getting progressively colder as they travelled through.<p>

The ruins seemed to be a mix of cave & castle. There'd be a few rooms that suggested it was more of a castle, such as an entry way, barracks & what seemed to be an armoury. However, it was a good mix of cave as well, with limited lighting & lots of long supposed hallways. No one seemed to be inside, but eveidence suggested otherwise, such as recently cleaned weapons & armour.

'What is this place?' Thoreien asked.

'I don't know,' Sonia said. 'And I don't want to know. Let's just get this over & done with,'

'What do you think could be in here that's causing this?' Zenia asked.

'It could be anything from a simple problem to a major threat,' Sonia said. 'I just hope it's not going to get us killed,'

Progression grew slower as the temperature dropped. Eventually, they began heading down into the depths of the ruins, which progressively became more gory. Skeletons hung from the walls, with dried blood painted all over. There were skulls that had been stacked to make walls, which made the travellers shiver in fear, as well as cold. The ruins had become the stuff of nightmares.

'Who would live here?' Doria wondered.

'Someone who is really into death,' Ronan said.

'Ronan please,' Sonia begged.

'What? Just trying to lighten the mood,' Ronan said. This brought a few smiles, but only for a few seconds.

The sound of screeching metal filled the hallway.

No one spoke. They only drew their weapons.

Silence. Then the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching.

Out of the darkness, soldiers appeared. And there was a lot more than they were expecting.

The group, knowing better, ran. The soldiers followed them into a hall, where more were waiting.

They were surrounded, with soldiers in all directions.

One of them stepped forward. 'Drop your weapons & come with us,'

'Who are you?' Baurest demanded.

'Your worst nightmare,' the soldier responded. 'Drop your weapons,'

'Best to do what he says,' Thoreien said, defeated.

The travellers dropped their weapons, & soldiers rapidly approached them, slapping what seemed to be handcuffs on their wrists. They were then ushered to move.

As they exited the room, they caught sight of a banner on a pillar.

The Highthorn banner.


	40. Blood-Stained Past

**The plot all falls into place here. Prepare for a doozy, as well as 7 chapters remaining. **

**Also, I'll be doing a double update today because I wont be able to update until around Friday next week. **

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><p>They were dragged to the throne room. Entering the throne room, there were several guards guarding a throne, completely made of ice. Sitting on the throne, was the largest man anyone of them had ever seen, &amp; he was seemingly frozen to the throne. He was fully armoured, including a helmet that completely covered his face. The armour was dark blue, with lighter elements on it, but not much. On his chest, there was a glowing piece, right were his heart was. The helmet was large, with only his glowing red eyes visible.<p>

The man stood, & as he did so, the ice that bound him to the throne broke. He loomed over the travellers threateningly, & through the helmet, they watched his red eyes narrow.

'Oakblades,' he said in a deep voice.

'What?' Thoreien questioned.

'Oakblades,' the man repeated, seemingly more hostile. 'Bring them forward,'

The guards forced Sonia, Ronan & Doria forward. They were pushed to the ground, but they all got back up.

The man took his place at his throne again. While doing so, he drew his sword: a great sword made out of ice with runes carved into the blade, & placed it next to the throne. He olny had to use one hand, as there wasn't any room for another hand to wield it on the hilt.

'Do you Oakblades know who I am?' the man asked.

Ronan smirked. 'Wouldn't have a clue,' he said.

'Ronan not now,' Doria said softly.

'Why not?' the Nord asked.

'Because we could be killed any minute now,' Sonia said angrily.

'SILENCE!' the man yelled. The three of them fell silent.

The man leaned on his arm, his eyes narrowing once again. 'I assumed that you grandfather would of told you something. Or at least you fathers,'

'What?' Sonia questioned, looking confused.

'So he didn't tell you?' the man said, sitting up. 'Figures. That milk-drinker wouldn't have the guts to. Or his supposed sons,'

'You take that back!' Ronan demanded.

'Never. He deserves it,' the man said cruelly.

'Who are you? And how do you know our grandfather?' Doria demanded.

The man broke out into a laugh that shook the room. The kneeling Nords looked at each other while their companions seemed disturbed.

'I'll give you a hint,' the man said. 'Vordus,'

There was a brief moment of confusion between the travellers. But then the realisation hit all of them.

'You,' Sonia said, shaking. 'You're The Frozen King,'

'That's right,' the king said. 'Took you mortals long enough to realise,'

'By the gods,' Maurmon swore under his breath.

The three Nords looked stunned. Then anger flashed across all their faces.

'How do you know our grandfather?' Sonia demanded.

'Why did you kill the Emperor?' Ronan questioned.

'How are you still alive after 190 years?' Doria asked.

Vordus rose from his throne. He picked up his sword & brandished it at the Nords, who backed away instantly. 'I'll answer your questions,' he said darkly. 'But I'm not letting you stand any longer. Guards!'

Guards grabbed hold of both parties, with cries of protest. Once they were pinned down, Vordus began.

'I guess you could say that your grandfather & I were once friends,' Vordus began. 'Before he went behind my back & killed someone close to me,'

'He never-' Doria began.

'SILENCE!' Vordus screamed. 'That answers your question, Dovahkiin. Oh don't look so surprised, I know about all of you,' the king said. 'As for the Harbinger's question, it was simple: Kill the emperor, then assassinate all the remaining powers. Although, that plan didn't get very far once Tervdos was caught. So I went for Plan B: Attack the provinces,'

'You monster,' Zenia said.

Vordus shot the Imperial a look. 'As for your question, Doria,' Vordus said, looking at her. 'As The Frozen King, it was easy to live for 190 years. Ice freezes everything it touches: even stopping age if used right,'

'But at what cost?' Thoreien challenged. 'If ice stops you from aging, fire would surely start it up again,'

Vordus laughed. 'You foolish mortal!' he yelled. 'Haven't you noticed that this place is frozen? Haven't you noticed that there is no light here? Or any heat in the surrounding area? That's because of me! And my power grows! The more years pass, the stronger I get!'

Vordus lowered his sword. He then turned to one of the guards. 'Take them to the dungeons,'

'As you wish, my lord,' the guard said.


	41. The Icy Dungeon

**Another filler that's probably too short. Woo. 6 chapters remaining until Epilogue! (I miss-counted)**

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><p>They all were thrown into a dark cell. Stripped of all possessions &amp; clothing, they were given thin tattered clothes &amp; were all placed in one cell. There was no light source &amp; the cell was cold, being completely covered in ice. They soon found themselves shivering &amp; huddling together for warmth.<p>

Once a day, guards would come around & give them food. This wasn't much, as Vordus saw no point in feeding them properly. 'They can all starve for all I care,' his voice boomed. 'Just make them suffer,'

The guard made sure they suffered. They were only allowed one drink of water & one meal a day, but even then that was harsh. The food was stale & the water always tasted like turpentine.

The worst part was the cold. Ice formed on all areas, as well as there being no light source like Vordus had promised. Thoreien & Cormer both tried & failed to light a small fire, but it was hopeless without anything to burn.

Vordus visited them once. He looked into the cell to see the travellers huddling together in a desperate attempt to keep warm. Vordus regarded them for a moment, then was on his way, laughing cruelly.

There was little hope. They remained silent at most times, only talking occasionally or when a guard passed by. 'Shut it, prisoners!' were the guard's only responses.

Overall, there was a massive feeling of dread. With no one stopping Vordus, how long until he began his attack on Sentinel? Or even worse, the rest of the provinces. It almost seemed that Tamriel was about to fall into anarchy.

They needed a miracle so that they could escape. But even then the chances were slim.


	42. A Shred Of Hope

**I'm back! 6 chapters to go! (counting epilogue). Let's get started with this too short chapter!**

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><p>'Here you go, scum!' a guard yelled through the bars of the cell, throwing the starving prisoners a few chunks of stale meat &amp; bread.<p>

Eventually, Thoreien went to retrieve the food. He took a bite of the meat, wincing at the stale taste. He offered some to Cormer, who refused.

Ronan groaned. 'How long have we been here?'

'I don't know,' Sonia said, wrapping her arms around her knees. 'I've lost track of time,'

'My best guess is a week,' Maurmon said weakly.

'It feels like weeks to be honest,' Zenia said.

Baurest sighed. 'I don't think we'll last much longer in here,' he said sadly.

'I think I agree with you,' Doria said.

Thoreien stood up. He walked, or limped really over to the edge of the cell. He began to rattle the cell bars & bang on them.

'Hey! Someone get over here!' he yelled.

'What are you doing?' Sonia demanded. 'Have you gone mad?'

Thoreien ignored her & continued his shouting.

'Be quiet in there!' a guard yelled.

Thoreien continued to shout. After a few minutes, a guard came running over. The guard unlocked the cell, rushed in, & began kicking Thoreien.

After the guard finished his brutal attack, the guard left & locked the cell. Thoreien clawed his way across the cell, back to where he was sitting.

'What were you thinking you fool?' Ronan demanded.

'I was thinking of a way to get us out of here,' Thoreien gasped.

There was a brief silence, then Cormer spoke up: 'Of course,' he mumbled.

'What?' Maurmon said.

'If the guards will come running when we make too much noise,' Cormer began. 'Maybe we can use this to our advantage,'

'So we basically just wait for a guard to come into the cell? Then what?' Ronan said.

'We hit him. Hard,' Thoreien said. 'We get the keys that he'll be holding, grab our stuff & try to take down Vordus,'

'Do you think it will work?' Zenia asked.

'It's worth a shot,' Thoreien said.


	43. Escape!

**Five chapters remaining! Unless something happens, that's one a day!**

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><p>'Somebody help us! Please!'<p>

Thoreien was shouting at the top of his lungs. They had just gone over the plan the last time & it was now time to put it into action.

'Someone please hurry!'

'Shut up!' A guard approached the cell. 'What do you want?' he demanded.

'One of my companions is dying! Give us a hand here!'

Grumbling, the guard unlocked the door. He stepped into the cell, looked around then turned to Thoreien.

'What kind of joke is this scum?' he demanded.

The guard never got an answer as Baurest stepped out of the shadows from behind him. In one quick movement, Baurest punched the guard in the back of the neck, which sent the guard to the ground.

Thoreien removed the keys from the guard's hands. 'Okay,' he began. 'Let's get out of here,'

* * *

><p>Recovering their possessions was easy. Sneaking through the hallways wasn't.<p>

After a few minutes of not so discreet sneaking, the group decided it would be better if they fought their way though the hallways. Luckily, this wasn't the case as most of them were empty, but the occasional guard was encountered & quickly dealt with.

However, as time passed, more guards appeared. The once silent atmosphere of the castle was broken by shouting. In a matter of seconds, the entire castle had been alerted that the prisoners were escaping. Guards could be heard from all directions as the escapees ran through the hallways.

'Looks like we're about to have company,' Ronan commented.

'You don't say,' Sonia responded.

'How long until Vordus figures out his plan is beginning to fail?' Doria asked.

'I'd say he knows by about now,' Cormer said.

'That doesn't matter,' Maurmon said. 'All we have to do is destroy him,'

'Sounds like a plan,' Zenia agreed.

'Well then,' Thoreien said. 'Let's go kill The Frozen King!'

They ran into the throne room. Sure enough, Vordus was there, wielding his massive sword. He looked at the escapees, his glowing red eyes shining through his large helmet.

'So, you've all dared to escape, knowing that you will all die,' Vordus challenged.

'The only one that will be dying here is you,' Sonia threatened.

Vordus laughed cruelly. 'Such noble words for a dead hero,'

Vordus then signalled for the guards to come in. In a matter of moments, they were surrounded one again.

'Kill them,' Vordus ordered.


	44. The Terror Ends

**4 chapters to go!**

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><p>Guards were shouting from all corners as steel clashed &amp; spells boomed. Heavily outnumbered, exhausted &amp; depleted of much energy, the group fought on, desperate to take down the Frozen King. It didn't help that he was trying to freeze them at any chance he got, even freezing &amp; killing his own men many times.<p>

Despite the original plan of staying in one group, the escapees had been split up. Everyone was fighting a separate battle, as well as trying to figure out a way to take down Vordus.

Sonia had managed to break off from the main fight, & was hiding behind a pillar. Despite the fact she wanted to continue fighting, she knew that Vordus had to fall in order to win the fight.

As the fight wore on, Thoreien eventually crept over to where Sonia was hiding.

'What are you doing over here?' he asked.

'Trying to figure out a way to destroy Vordus,' she responded.

'Any ideas?'

'I can't think of anything,'

The two of them watched the king as he tried to freeze their companions. Most of the time, all he could manage was to send a few walls of ice in all directions, but the group managed to get behind cover in time. The fight wasn't going anywhere fast.

'We have to do something!' Thoreien yelled.

'I know!' Sonia yelled back. 'I'm just trying to think of something!'

'He's got to have some kind of weakness!' Thoreien said.

'All I can think of right now is to get that sword away from him!' Sonia said.

'Why?'

'He's ripping the ground apart with it! Not to mention that's how he's controlling the ice! If we can get it away from him, we might be able to take him down!'

'What do you think we should do?'

'I'm going to have to get you to distract him somehow! If you can get him to raise his sword, I might be able to shoot it with an arrow!'

Thoreien thought over the plan for a minute. He then turned to her. 'I might die,'

'I know that,'

Thoreien smiled. 'It was an honour serving with you then,'

Sonia's only response was a sad smile.

Thoreien ran back out into the battlefield. He dodged the soldiers that tried to kill him, & approached the king.

The king turned to him & raised his sword. At the same time on the other side of the room, Sonia readied her bow.

_One shot_ she thought. _Otherwise Thoreien is going to be a statue of ice._

The soldiers realised that someone had approached the king, & had stopped fighting the scattered group. Thoreien's companions were shocked to see the Breton standing before the king, sword in hand.

'What are you doing?' Ronan shouted.

Thoreien ignored the Harbinger as he stood before the king, ice forming on the tip of his sword due to the cold of the king's massive sword. It pulsed in his hand, feeding his rage & power.

'So, this one wishes to die,' Vordus said. 'Then you shall DIE!'

Vordus brung his sword down towards the mage. Thoreien sidestepped, feeling the tip of the blade barely miss him. The mage countered by sending a ball of fire towards the king. It hit him in the chest, but the king didn't flinch.

'Your petty spells can't save you now!' he taunted.

Thoreien continued to move around the makeshift arena, hoping that Sonia would do something quickly. Vordus seemed to get impatient.

Sonia had readied her arrow. Her bow was drawn & she was waiting for the right moment...

Thoreien dodged another swipe of the king's sword. Frustrated, the king quickly swung again, making Thoreien raise his sword to deflect it.

The king's sword shattered the mage's sword, sending shards of frozen steel around the room. Thoreien, realising that he was in trouble, readied some spells.

'Time to die, scum,' the king said, raising his sword.

Sonia took the shot as the sword began it's decent.

In a matter of seconds, the single arrow hit the blade...

...and the blade shattered.

Thoreien was blown back while the king stumbled back. All of the soldiers, who fed of the magic, began to drop dead, their weapons shattering. The throne room became slightly warmer as centuries of frost began to melt.

Sonia ran out from her position to join her companions. Thoreien rose to his feet, while the king surveyed the damage.

'Curse you!' he shouted. 'Do you know what you have done?'

'I don't know. You tell me,' Sonia said sarcastically.

The king was about to say something, but was stopped by the sound of ice cracking. He looked to his hand, seeing deep cracks beginning to form. he looked to his other hand, seeing more cracks. He looked at the group, who were beginning to back away.

He began to move towards them, but didn't get the chance to.

In an instant, there was a large explosion of ice & snow. The explosion engulfed the king, who was screaming in agony. When the explosion subsided, the king lay on the ground, armour partially destroyed.

The ice that surrounded the throne room began to melt entirely. The cave began to warm up, but not too much as they were still deep underground. As the ice melted away, it revealed skylights that had frozen over. Looking through these, the heroes could see that night had fallen, & the sky was clear.

'We did it,' Thoreien breathed.

'Yeah,' Sonia said.

'What do we do now?' Zenia asked.

Sonia turned to Zenia. 'We go home,' she said.


	45. Returning Home

**3 chapters to go! It may be short but the next one will be longer.**

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><p>Upon returning to the Sentinel palace, there was a large crowd gathered at the gates. Entering the city, they began cheering for the weary group, who were welcomed by the King &amp; Queen. They were escorted to the palace, where they were treated for their injuries &amp; were given a feast in their honour.<p>

After the feast, they were seen by the King & Queen in the war room. Entering the dimly lit room, the King & Queen were standing there, with a few parcels in front of them.

'We have sent a courier to the Imperial City informing the Emperor of your victory,' King Turke said. 'We suggest you remain in the palace until you are able to return to the palace,'

'Thank you, your majesty,' Sonia thanked.

'On behalf of Hammerfell,' Queen Senlone began. 'We would like to personally thank you for destroying Vordus. While there is no doubt you receive a reward from the Emperor himself, we would like to thank you dealing with the threat while it was still in Hammerfell,'

The King unwrapped the parcels in front of them. Inside each one were swords, each with golden hilts & gems inlaid into them.

'Please, take a weapon,' King Turke said, gesturing to them. 'Consider it a gift,'

'Thank you your majesty,' Zenia thanked.

As they left the war room, they began to make their way to the library. They decided to spend the remainder of their time in Sentinel in the library, as it was one of the most peaceful places in the city.

'Ah,' Ronan sighed, relaxing in a chair. 'It's good to have some peace for once,'

'As long as you don't start snoring it can remain that way,' Thoreien said under his breath.

Ronan ignored the comment made by the mage as the others laughed.

'How long do you want to stay in Sentinel for?' Zenia asked.

'Well,' Maurmon began. 'The king said that we could stay for a while. Plus the Emperor would want to have us back as soon as possible,'

'Not to mention that we have to get back to Skyrim,' Baurest said. 'At least, most of us do,'

'So how long?' Cormer asked.

'About a week or so,' Maurmon answered.

'Sounds good to me,' Doria said.


	46. A New Order

**2 chapters to go! I'll give you both of them today! Sorry if this chapter is a bit bad, I've found out about something that's basically fucked up everything.**

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><p>After a week of recuperation, they boarded a ship to the Imperial city. A note had come from the emperor, stating that there would be family there to receive them when they returned.<p>

Sure enough, when they got off the boat a few days later in the Imperial city, there were people there to receive them. Treotas was obviously there, along with Jorgal & the Companions, who had arrived from Skyrim a few days ago.

As they stepped off the boat, they were met by chorus of cheering from their family & friends, as well as the dock workers. Even some of the guards were cheering along with them. As they approached their respective friends & family & received their welcomes, the Emperor made himself known in the crowd.

'I will need you all to come to the palace,' Quaceius said. 'We have important matters to discuss,'

'Like what?' Ronan asked.

'Come with me & you will find out,' the Emperor said.

'What about us?' Jorgal asked.

'You are more than welcome to join us in the palace. But you will not be allowed in the war room,' Quaceius explained.

'Fair enough,' Jorgal said.

* * *

><p>Gathered around the war table in the Imperial palace once again, Quaceius began to make his plans clear.<p>

'Before I begin, I must thank all of you,' he said. 'Including you Thoreien, even though you weren't part of this originally,'

Quaceius gestured for someone to come in. It was Treotas, who had a guard following him.

'Father?' Zenia asked.

Treotas stopped just to the side of the Emperor. Quaceius began to speak again. 'As payment for stopping The Frozen King,' Quaceius explained. 'I am commissioning Ex-Legionnaire Treotas Gratus to craft you an item of your choice, whether it be a piece of armour or another weapon,' Quaceius said, looking at the ornate swords the King & Queen of Hammerfell had given them a week before.

'This is only part of the reward. You will all receive 10,000 septims from the Imperial Treasury, as part of your payment,'

Quaceius chuckled at the surprised expressions across the room. He then spoke again. 'Make your requests to Treotas, then we can begin to discuss something more important,'

Once the orders had been discussed, Quaceius took out a map of Tamriel. He began to explain himself once again:

'What I plan on doing,' he began. 'Is setting up an agent in each of the provinces. This agent will act as my personal messenger, keeping me up to date on what's happening within the province,'

'So you want us to be the agents?' Thoreien questioned.

'Oh gods no!' Quaceius explained. 'What I need you to do is go to each province & select an agent. If you want to that is,'

The group exchanged looks.

'So, who's in?' the Emperor asked.

Sonia nodded. 'I'll go. Thoreien?'

'Might as well,' Thoreien said. 'It's what you paid me for,'

Sonia smiled. 'Anyone else?'

'I'll pass,' Doria said.

'Me too. I have Companions to train,' Ronan said.

'We'll stay with you Harbinger,' Maurmon said, Baurest nodding behind him.

'I'll come with you,' Cormer said.

'I'll go with Ronan,' Zenia said. 'I need a break from adventuring. I've also always wanted to see more of Skyrim,'

'So it's settled,' Quaceius said. 'I'll give you a few minutes with your friends & families. Then we'll talk further,'


	47. Epilogue

As he woke, he noticed that he was the only one still alive. As he tried to stand, he almost fell, making him curse in frustration & pain. Weakly, he reached for his sword, which had had its blade shattered & was only just visible in the darkness. He grabbed the hilt & pulled himself up.

Using the sword for support, he limped towards the moonlight, which was beaming through a skylight in the ceiling. He limped, growling death threats & cursing the people who had done this to him. As he came into the moonlight, he looked up at the moons. They were both in their new moon phase, with only their outlines visible in the dark sky.

He could feel his rage boiling as he smelled his dead comrades rotting away. He looked down, surveying the damage to his body. He was badly injured, with his legs battered & the left one broken. His right arm, the one holding his sword, was covered in open wounds. His left arm was badly wounded, making him wince in pain when he raised it. He looked at what remained of his armour: his greaves were still intact, but barely. The same went for his boots & his gauntlets & chest piece were non-existent. He could see the icicle at his heart was still intact, but was badly cracked. His helmet was lying a few feet away, partially destroyed. His torso was covered in cuts & blood, & still had some ice frozen to it.

He looked back to the sky & let out a cry of rage. He looked down at his sword, which was now returning to its original state, fixing itself in the process. He watched as his wounds healed & his armour was replaced. He felt all of his wounds disappear. He felt his long hair regrow in the places where the ice had stopped it from growing, including his facial hair, which was only stubble. He was soon fully armoured, aside from the helmet.

He stood there for a moment & then spoke in a low growl:

'I will kill you, Oakblades,' Vordus growled. 'I will kill you like the mortal scum you are,'

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><p><strong>I feel as if I need to go into detail about Vordus' connection to the Oakblades. I will do this, just not now as I need to begin progress on some other projects. I may or may not continue the story after that. We'll see.<strong>

**I thank everyone that has been keeping up with the story since the beginning. **

**Until next time.**

**~ SLRthechosen.**


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